REL 2219 - Religion and American Law

Credits: 4
What does the United States Constitution say about the relationship between religion and law, church and state, and religious freedom? Did the Founding Fathers intend for America to be a Christian nation? How have various Supreme Court justices interpreted the First Amendment’s religion clauses? And what exactly are the religion clauses? To answer all these questions and more, this course explores the evolving relationship between religion and American law. Using critical and socio-cultural theory, this course situates dominant legal trends within their larger cultural and historical contexts. This course specifically examines religious minorities who engaged the law to challenge what they perceived as white, Protestant dominance. In the process, they influenced judicial readings of the Constitution’s religion clauses.
McDaniel Plan: Social, Cultural, and Historical Understanding; Multicultural