POSO012S7 : Religion and Politics
Subject name:
Politics
Publish this module:
YES
overview:
This graduate level course provides students with a comprehensive and detailed researchbased understanding of the key interactions between politics and religion in the modern
world. It is comparative in approach, with its first focus on developments in those parts of the
world which are traditionally Christian. This focus, however, is by no means exclusive.
Throughout the module comparative assessments across the world will be introduced, and
substantive elements of the module will focus on other geographical areas and on faiths such
as Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism.
What we are interested in on this module is how the political sphere interacts with the
religious in the contemporary world.
Is religion becoming more or less significant politically? Why does it seem to be more
important in some countries than others? How do different religions and denominations relate
to the political sphere? How do different states relate to religion? When is religion a
conservative force, and when is it radical?
‘Politics and religion’ is organised around analysis of these questions, analysis which is
enhanced through case-studies and seminar work, often focusing on particular states and
religions which exemplify wider issues.
moduleDescription:
Framing the module are three overarching issues:
·
Secularisation is an interpretation of the relationship between religion and the
socio-political realm which ties it closely to modernisation and argues – to dramatically
oversimplify – that the more modern a society is, the less influence religion has on its people
and politics. We analyse the secularisation thesis through the work of proponents and
opponents, as well as looking at how it relates to different religions, different sorts of society
and state, different ethnic mixes, different historical paths, different levels of personal and
national security, and so on.
·
Discussion of ‘Church-State’ relations explores the interaction between ‘church’
– which is used somewhat loosely to mean dominant religion(s) – and the authorities.
Different states at different times choose, or have forced upon them, different relations with
religious groups. There is a whole spectrum of approaches: church control over the state, state
control over the church, state preference for particular religious groups over others, an
official established church, or liberal attempts to make the state neutral in relation to the
church. This latter example is of particular interest in the contemporary developed world,
raising as it does questions of whether religious groups in the abstract are any more or less
deserving of state support than other social groupings and non-governmental organisations.
·
Religion and democracy is the focus of the latter part of the module, which
explores the influence of different religions on the development of democracy and the
process of rapid democratic transition from authoritarianism. Under this heading too we
consider the tendencies within different religions – indeed often within the same religion – to
both conservatism and radicalism. We ask whether it is possible to generalise about the
relationship between religion and the poor and oppressed. We consider too the focus on
moral issues within much of the discourse between the political and religious spheres, and
dilemmas to be found around the imposition of religious values in law.
learningObjectives:
By the end of the module students will:
· have a substantial comparative knowledge of the place of religion in the world of
contemporary politics;
· have a deeper understanding of the place of religion in a range of different cultures and
states, and be able to analyse these within a comparative framework;
· have developed their analytical, evaluative and critical abilities and be able to apply
these to current debates on the relationship between politics and religion;
· be able to apply critically appropriate political science theories, models, and concepts to
analysis of politics and religion in the contemporary world;
supplementaryInfo:
recommendedReading:
In terms of reading, Steve Bruce Politics and Religion (Polity, 2003) provides useful and
broad overviews of the topics covered on this module.
Relevant qualifications:
27857