Modern Christian Political Thought

3 credits · Graduate School

Surveying Christian Political Thought from the late nineteenth century to contemporary debates, we will analyze theo-ethical understandings of the relation of Christianity to political life. Some questions the course will focus on are: Is there a necessary and important relationship between Christianity and democracy? What is the role of the public theo-ethicist in political debates? In what ways do various ecclesial and theological assumptions impact the political engagement of the church? Social gospel, Christian Realist, Anabaptist, Liberation, Catholic Social Thought, Feminist, and Fundamentalist approaches will receive particular attention. A theory-practice option for those who want to study the concurrent U.S. campaign season is available. [3] Snarr.