Catholics & US Public Life

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course offers an overview of the interaction between Catholics and public life in America during the half century following the Second Vatican Council and the election of a Catholic as President in 1960. The course should permit students to gain a greater familiarity with the engagement and response of various Catholic individuals and groups on some major political and social-cultural issues. It will explore the extent of Catholic influence in American politics and society during the period and will explore the role of religion in shaping (or not shaping) the outlooks of a number of significant Catholic political figures beginning with JFK, RFK, and Eugene McCarthy, moving to Mario Cuomo and Daniel Patrick Moynihan down to contemporary figures. The course offers each student the opportunity to research and write a major paper on a topic of his or her choosing in this area.