John Cabot University - Religion and Global Politics syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY Religion and Global Politics Seminar Course code: PL 529 Contact hours: 45 Credits: Profs Michael Driessen, Pamela Harris and Tom Bailey (mdriessen@johncabot.edu; pharris@johncabot.edu; tbailey@johncabot.edu) COURSE AIMS “Religion” is driving contemporary political events in multiple, multifaceted and mysterious ways This seminar is designed to help you to understand why and how religion influences global politics, and to think about how religion and politics ought to influence each other in different democratic societies The seminar is divided into three parts, each taught by a professor adopting a different disciplinary perspective on the topic The empirical part of the seminar (Prof Driessen) will address concerns about how, why and where individuals are religious across the globe, and in what ways their religious ideas and identities influence their political decisions and behaviors We will first introduce a set of basic conceptual tools, definitions and frameworks which can be used to describe the relationship between religious ideas, actors and institutions, on the one hand, and world politics, on the other We will then apply and critique these conceptual tools by charting the extent to which religion influences (or does not influence) major events and dynamics of contemporary global politics In this regard, we will first map out patterns of religious political party participation in Mediterranean democracies We will then address religion’s relationship to political violence, and to political reconciliation and political development Finally, we will consider how religion becomes involved in foreign policy making In the legal part of the seminar (Prof Harris), we will examine the major questions posed by constitutional and human rights of religious freedom (including both freedom of religion and freedom from religion): the origins and scope of these rights, the problems in defining them, and the values with which they can conflict We will begin with a discussion of what religious freedom is, and then focus on conflicts over the formal relationship between religious and state authorities and over such concrete issues as the allocation of public wealth to religious communities, the place of religious symbols in the public sphere, religious education in public and private schools, and religious exemptions from general legal requirements (military service and drug laws, for example) We will also explore the tensions between religious communities’ identity and expressive rights and liberal views of sexual morality and gender equality We will conclude with a debate about the proper place of religion in the politics of democratic societies To fully appreciate the political, constitutional and cultural variables shaping these issues, we will examine constitutional/fundamental rights case law and commentary in various national jurisdictions We will also examine the views of religious liberty put forward in such supra-national bodies as the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights The normative part of the seminar (Prof Bailey) will focus on two crucial, yet divergent, themes in debates over the role that religions ought to play in democratic politics: “dialogue” and “toleration.” To explore the theme of dialogue, we will first examine the debate between “inclusivists” and “exclusivists” over whether and how religious claims should be admitted into democratic consensus-building and decision-making We will then consider different views about how citizens might also “learn” and “translate” their different religious and secular worldviews in democratic dialogue, and also how Pope Benedict XVI responded to such ideas by defending Catholic senses of political reasoning In contrast, the theme of toleration concerns the degree to which dissensus over religious practices and convictions is acceptable in politics We will consider the ideas of both toleration and multiculturalism in this regard, and test them on some challenging concrete issues, such as gay marriage, headscarves and pacifism We will also examine some Political Islamists’ views of democracy, to consider whether such views can be accommodated in democratic politics and the challenges they pose to democratic dialogue and toleration themselves Students will use and critique the concepts and issues introduced in the seminar not only in extensive class discussions and visits to local religious institutions, but also by researching and writing a term paper on a relevant issue or case Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the Iraq war debate, the E.U vs the Crucifix debate, the Islam and Democracy debate, and the US foreign policy debate over engagement with the “global Muslim community.” COURSE OUTLINE Introduction to the seminar I Empirical Studies (Prof Driessen) Introducing terms: Religious ideas, actors, institutions, and traditions How we measure religion and who and what is “religious” today? Rethinking political Catholicism: Empirical and normative perspectives (conference) Clash of civilizations, political Islam and democracy in the Muslim world Political Catholicism, and the contemporary politics of Christianity Engaged Buddhism and Hindu nationalism Peace and violence and foreign policy II Legal and Constitutional Frameworks (Prof Harris) Secularism and theories of religious liberty 10 Constitutional configurations of religious freedom and faith 11 Religious symbols and expression in the public sphere 12 Religion in public and private schools 13 Public exemptions for (private?) religious claims 14 Religious identity, sexual morality and gender equality III Normative Issues (Prof Bailey) 15 Religion in democratic debate: Inclusivism vs exclusivism 16 Learning from each other? “Translating” to and from religion 17 Political Catholicism: Pope Benedict XVI on faith and public reason 18 Dealing with dissensus: Toleration and multiculturalism 19 Toleration in practice? Gay marriage, headscarves, pacifism 20 Political Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood and democracy 21 Concluding meeting ASSESSMENT Class participation (25% of the final grade) Classes will involve a mixture of lecturing, seminar discussions, group presentations, and other activities The emphasis will be on helping you to develop your own and others’ opinions and arguments and your ability to discuss them with others, as well as your understanding of the materials and the positions and arguments presented in them Your active involvement in discussions and other class activities, based on adequate preparation outside class, is therefore essential You will be given a percentage grade for each class, and the average of these grades will constitute your final participation grade Your grades will be based on how sophisticated an understanding and analysis of the relevant materials you display, how clearly and attentively you respond to what I and others say, and how critically and thoroughly you show that you reflect on the issues raised So, if you show an understanding of and engagement with the materials, contribute actively and collaboratively to class activities, and reflect actively on the issues raised, then you will receive an “A” grade for the class You will receive a “B” grade if you show an understanding of the basics of the materials, while contributing rarely or only when called upon and providing little thoughtful analysis A “C” grade or lower will indicate an unsatisfactory lack of preparation, attention and/or thought There is no textbook or reader for the course; the readings and other materials for each class will be posted on the class Moodle site Bring to class your printouts of the relevant materials and your notes on them A maximum of two unexcused absences from class will be accepted Beyond this, a zero grade will be given for each unexcused absence, bringing your average grade down It is your responsibility to inform the professor if you miss or cannot participate fully in a class for a good reason In addition to the scheduled classes, there will be opportunities to attend lectures, visits and other events relevant to the course, and you will be expected to attend most of these Short reflections (25%) The seminar is designed not to only teach you something about religion and global politics, but also to teach you something about how to read and write scholarly works For these reasons, each week you will write a two-page (graduates) or one-page (undergraduate) reflection on a reading or set of readings from the course Two of these reflections may be substituted for either a movie review or one or two reportages on a significant “religion and politics” news item of the week This is to stimulate you to begin looking through the global media with the open eyes of an expert on religion and global politics Paper (50%) In lieu of a final exam, you may write either a page paper on each of the three parts of the course or a 15 page research paper on a case study The latter option is recommended for graduate students, and involves the following steps: (1) a one-paragraph paper proposal and accompanying bibliography (by class 8; 10% of the paper grade); (2) a meeting with one of the professors (by class 12; 10%); and (3) the final paper (by class 21; 80%) Your grades for the reflections and the paper will be based on how well you explain the relevant ideas and arguments, how thoughtfully you discuss them and how clearly and logically you present your answer to the question So, an assignment that accurately and thoroughly explains the relevant ideas and arguments, discusses them in reflective and analytical ways, and presents all of this precisely and as part of a clear answer to the question will receive an ‘A’ grade If the assignment explains some of the relevant ideas and arguments accurately, provides some thoughtful discussion, and is generally clearly expressed and organized, it will receive a ‘B’ grade A ‘C’ grade assignment will be one that attempts to answer the question and provides some account of some relevant ideas and arguments, but fails to explain others, gives little discussion and/or is unclearly expressed and organized Higher levels of understanding, research and analysis will be expected of graduate students SCHEDULE AND READINGS Introduction to the seminar I Empirical Studies (Prof Driessen) Introducing terms: Religious ideas, actors, institutions, and traditions Monica Duffy Toft, Daniel Philpott and Timothy Samuel Shah, God's Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics, Norton & Co., 2011, chs 1–2 ‘In God’s Name: A Survey of Religion’, The Economist 2007 Recommended: R Scott Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred, Rowman & Littlefield, 1999, 1–34 How we measure religion and who and what is “religious” today? Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide, 2nd ed., Cambridge UP, 2012, ch Michael Driessen, ‘Religion, State and Democracy’, Politics and Religion 3:1 (2010), 55–80 Recommended: Philip S Gorski and Ateş Altınordu, ‘After Secularization’, Annual Review of Sociology 34 (2008), 55-85 Rethinking Political Catholicism conference (no class) Clash of Civilizations, political Islam and democracy in the Muslim world Samuel P Huntington, ‘The Clash of Civilizations?’, Foreign Affairs (1993) Mark Tessler, Amaney Jamal and Michael Robbins 2012 “New Findings on Arabs and Democracy,” Journal of Democracy 23(4) 89-103 Olivier Roy 2012 “The Transformation of the Arab World,” Journal of Democracy (23) Alfred Stepan 2012 “Tunisia’s Transition and the Twin Tolerations,” Journal of Democracy: Recommended: Muslim religious leaders, ‘A Common Word Statement’, 2007 Thomas Banchoff, ‘Interreligious Dialogue and International Relations’, in Timothy Samuel Shah, Alfred Stepan and Monica Duffy Toft (eds.), Rethinking Religion and World Affairs, Oxford UP, ch 13 Clifford Bob, ‘The Baptist-Burqa Network’, in The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics, Cambridge UP, 2012 Martin Kramer, ‘The Mismeasure of Political Islam’, in The Islamism Debate, Moshe Dayan, 1997 Political Catholicism and the contemporary politics of Christianity Stathis N Kalyvas and Kees van Kersbergen, ‘Christian Democracy’, Annual Review of Political Science 13 (2010), 183–209 Robert Putnam and David Campbell, 2010, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us Simon and Schuster Chapter 15 Dan Philpott 2004 “The Catholic Wave,” Journal of Democracy, 15(2): 32-46 Recommended: Franco Garelli, ‘The Public Relevance of the Church and Catholicism in Italy’, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 12:1 (2007) Pope Pius XII, Christmas radio message, 1944 Engaged Buddhism and Hindu Nationalism Rajeev Bhargava, “Can Anything be Learned from the Indian Model of Secularism?” Chapter in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs Kyaw Hlaing, 2008, “Challenging the Authoritarian State: Buddhist Monks and Peaceful Protests in Burma,” The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 32(1) Recommended: Rajeev Bhargava 2010 “Liberal, Secular Democracy and Explanations of Hindu Nationalism,” Commonwealth and Comparative Politics Michael Jerryson and Mark Juergensmeyer, ed.s 2010 Buddhist Warfare New York: Oxford University Press Peace and Violence and Foreign Policy William Cavanaugh, 2009 The Myth of Religious Violence New York: Oxford University Press Daniel Philpott, 2012 Just and Unjust Peace: An Ethic of Political Reconciliation New York Oxford University Press Anthony Gill and Timothy Shah 2013 “Religious Freedom, Democratization and Economic Development.” Association for the Study of Religion, Economics and Culture The Chicago Council on Global Affairs 2009: “Engaging Religious Communities Abroad” pp 5-27, 55-82 Recommended Robert A Pape, ‘The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism’, American Political Science Review 97:3 (2003), 343–361 James Gibson ‘The Contributions of Truth to Reconciliation: Lessons from South Africa’, Journal of Conflict Resolution (2006), 409–432 Jeffery Sachs 2013 “Sowing the Future: How the Church can help Promote Sustainable Development Goals,” America Thomas Farr, “America’s International Religious Freedom Policy,” Chapter 17 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs President Obama’s 2009 Cairo Speech II Legal and Constitutional Frameworks (Prof Harris) Secularism and theories of religious liberty John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1785) Martha Nussbaum, Liberty of Conscience, Basic Books, 2008, ch Constitutional configurations of religious freedom and faith: Separation, laicité, secularism, concord, theological Gary J Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law, Princeton, 2003, 21–53, 54–90 Ran Hirschl, Constitutional Theocracy, Harvard, 2010, chs 2–4 Tulkins, The European Convention on Human Rights and Church-State Relations: Pluralism vs Pluralism, 30 Cardozo L.Rev 2575 (2009) 10 Religious symbols and expression in the public sphere Nussbaum, Liberty of Conscience, 252–272 Lautsi v Italy (ECtHR 2011) (argument of Joseph Weiler before the Court) Susanna Mancini, ‘The Crucifix Rage’, European Constitutional Law Review 6, 6–27 (2010) 11 Religion in public and private schools: Religious symbols, religious and scientific instruction, prayer Nussbaum, Liberty of Conscience, 224–252, 306–334, ch McCullum v Board of Education, 333 U.S 203 (1948) 12 Public exemptions for (private?) religious claims: Holidays, rituals, conscientious objection, polygamy Nussbaum, Liberty of Conscience, 115–120, 135–158, 175–198 Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law, 81-84, 91-103 Sarla Mugdal v India 13 Religious identity, sexual morality and gender equality Hirschl, The Wheel of Law, 177-185 Nussbaum, Liberty of Conscience, 334–346 Lorraine E Weinrib, ‘Speech, Religion, and the Traditional Family’, in A Sajó (ed.), Consorial Sensitivities: Free Speech and Religion in a Fundamentalist World, Eleven, 2007, 165-178 Perry v Schwartzenegger (CA Proposition litigation, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2010, USSC 2013) III Normative Issues (Prof Bailey) 15 Religion in democratic debate: Inclusivism vs exclusivism Andrew March, “Rethinking Religious Reasons in Public Justification,” American Political Science Review 107: (2013): 523–539 Eduardo Mendieta, ‘A Postsecular World Society? On the Philosophical Significance of Postsecular Consciousness and the Multicultural World Society: An Interview with Jürgen Habermas’, The Immanent Frame (2010) Bernard G Prusak, ‘Politics, Religion and the Public Good: An Interview with John Rawls’, Commonweal 125: 16 (1998) 16 Learning from each other? “Translating” to and from religion Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na‘im, Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Sharia, Harvard UP, 2008 Maeve Cooke, ‘Translating Truth’, Philosophy and Social Criticism 37:4 (2011), 479–491 Andrew March, Islam and Liberal Citizenship: The Search for an Overlapping Consensus, Oxford UP, 2009, chs 3–4 17 Political Catholicism: Pope Benedict XVI on faith and public reason Joseph Ratzinger, ‘That Which Holds the World Together: The Pre-Political Moral Foundations of a Free State’, in Jürgen Habermas and Joseph Ratzinger, The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion, Ignatius, 2006, 53–80 _, Lecture by the Holy Father at the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2008 18 Dealing with dissensus: Toleration and multiculturalism Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Odysseys, Oxford UP, 2007, chs 3-4 Catriona McKinnon, Toleration, Routledge, 2006, chs 3–5 19 Toleration in practice? Gay marriage, headscarves, pacifism Ryan T Anderson, ‘Marriage: What It Is, Why It Matters, and the Consequences of Redefining It’, Backgrounder, The Heritage Foundation, March 11, 2013 Christopher J Eberle, ‘Religion, Pacifism and the Doctrine of Restraint’, Journal of Religious Ethics 34: (2006), 203–224 Martha Nussbaum, ‘Veiled Threats?’, New York Times (July 11, 2010) 20 Political Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood and democracy Mohammad Ma’mun El-Hudaibi, ‘The Principles of the Muslim Brotherhood’, IKHWANweb (February 1, 2010) Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, Kazi, 2003 Yusuf al-Qaradawi, The Fiqh of Jihad, Wahba, 2009 (extracts) 21 Concluding meeting ... measure religion and who and what is “religious” today? Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide, 2nd ed., Cambridge UP, 2012, ch Michael Driessen, ? ?Religion, ... significant ? ?religion and politics? ?? news item of the week This is to stimulate you to begin looking through the global media with the open eyes of an expert on religion and global politics Paper... Catholicism, and the contemporary politics of Christianity Engaged Buddhism and Hindu nationalism Peace and violence and foreign policy II Legal and Constitutional Frameworks (Prof Harris) Secularism and