Religion and Politics in America: A Sacred Union?

Much has been written about the rise of Christian nationalism in recent years, but the tension between religion and politics has a long history in the United States.

Adopting a historical lens for the first part of the course, we examine how religion has variously been thought of as a political force in the United States from the founding into the twentieth century.

The second half of the course considers how religious groups interact with politics in the present day, focusing on recent Supreme Court cases and lobbying by religious interests.