Religion and Politics in American History

3 units

In a famous 2004 article, historian Jon Butler once remarked that US history textbooks and survey courses tend to pay significant attention to religion during the Colonial Era and early Republic, yet after the Civil War religion more often appears as a jack-in-the-box that pops up in historical accounts somewhat randomly and without much elaboration or analysis. To address the gaps in historical understandings that these absences may create, this course will provide a survey of the ways theological ideas and religiously-motivated social movements have shaped US politics and civic life from the Civil War to the present. With a particular emphasis placed on how religion intersects with other social categories such as race, gender, and class, it will examine the complex role that religious beliefs, practices, and identities have played in major political events and debates from the 1860s to today. In doing so, it will also inquire into what it means to study religion as a historical phenomenon, the theoretical and methodological tools that best assist in this work, and the historiographic implications of better attending to religion in historical analyses. No prior coursework in US history or religious studies is required.