Religious
Studies 3CC3 / Political Science
3LA3 (Winter 2019)
Religion and Politics
This
course website and online syllabus is located at https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/danahol/3CC3. It can also be accessed by way of my home page (see below) or by way of the Department of Religious Studies website (https://religiousstudies.mcmaster.ca/). Information about assignments and any scheduling changes will be posted to this online syllabus, announced in class, and/or e-mailed to participants. (Please make sure to keep us up to date about your e-mail addresses!)
Attention! This course is not on Avenue To Learn. This course website is the only online information source for this course.
This course is an
introduction to some key approaches to thinking about the relationship
between politics and religion in the West. We will study two
classic works on this topic: John Locke, Letter Concerning Toleration
(1689), the highly influential treatise on why and how religion and
politics should be regarded as separate spheres, and Carl Schmitt, Political Theology
(1922), a relatively recent influential attempt to argue that
political sovereignty has essentially theological roots. We will
also read contemporary discussions of the challenges posed by the role
of religion in public life--including debates about specific
contemporary dilemmas.
Zebra M-301 0.5 mm pencil and package of 12 "B" lead refills [required; available in the Required Course Supplies section of the Campus Store]
All the required readings, as well as some optional supplementary readings, are on
reserve at Mills Library -
e.g. for personal photocopying. To find items on reserve for a course, select "Course Reserve" from the drop-down menu here.
Further readings will be added as necessary.
Throughout the course and at the exams, you must
use your own
paper copy of all the
primary works we are studying--in the same
edition selected for the
class (whether
in book or xeroxed form). This will allow you to mark your text as you read and to be
prepared to refer to specific passages in
class and tutorial and when you write the exams.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance of all class and tutorial sessions.
One Text Summary (1-1.5 pages) - see detailed assignment to be handed out in class and to be posted below.* This assignment is to be completed in conjunction with attendance of the full class session at which it is due, and to be handed in at the end of the class session on those days.
Please complete either Text Summary 1 for January 21 or Text Summary 2 for January 28February 4, which will be on the readings you are preparing for those days.
*Please allow sufficient time to acquaint yourself with the specific instructions for this assignment (and to contact us for clarification if necessary) before beginning your work on it!
One Text
Preparation (2-3 pages) - on the assigned readings for Feb. 11, Feb. 25, March 18, March 25, or April 1 in conjunction with attendance of the full class session, and to be handed in at the end of the class session on those days. Specific assignments for each week will be posted to this syllabus the week before (see under the due dates).
Note: Text
Summary/Text
Preparation
assignments
are designed
to
help you prepare the reading assignment for a particular class
meeting, in conjunction with your participation in that class
meeting. Therefore, these assignments consist of the written assignment to be handed in at the class meeting at which it is due plus attendance of the full class session.
No submissions outside of those class times will be accepted.
Midterm Exam and Final
Exam will consist of essay
questions involving textual analysis. The essay questions will be
made known in advance, and the exam
will be open-book. Writing Time: 90 minutes.
Grades will be
based on the following: Text Summary (10%), Text Preparation (15%), Attendance of
Class Meetings and Tutorial Sessions (5%),
Midterm Exam
(30%), Final Exam (40%).
To arrange an academic
accommodation for a disability, please contact Student
Accessibility Services (SAS), Tel. 905-525-9140 ext. 28652;
sas@mcmaster.ca. Academic accommodations must be arranged for
each term of study.
You are advised to retain
copies of any written work you
submit for this class, and all your research notes, until you have
received an
official grade.
Students are asked to silence and stow away cell phones or handheld electronic devices prior to the start of the class period.
The use of handheld electronic devices is not permitted during class and tutorial meetings.
Please do not eat during class.
SCHEDULE
At certain
points in the course it may make good sense to modify the schedule
outlined below. The instructor reserves the right to modify elements of
the course and will notify students accordingly (in class, by e-mail to
participants, and by updating this online syllabus).
January 7
INTRODUCTION
No tutorial meeting this week.
January
14
Virginia
Statute
for Religious Freedom (authored by Thomas Jefferson, 1777; adopted
by Virginia House of Delegates, 1786) [handed out in class on
Jan. 7; or print out from the linked file]
Peter Schotten and
Dennis
Stevens,
Religion, Politics, and the Law (1996), chap. 1: "European
Roots," 3–13; chap. 2: 24-32 [coursepack]
John
Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration, trans. William Popple
(1689), ed. James H. Tully (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1983), 21-38 ("...to
their own Consciences") [purchase book]
Schotten/Stevens,
Religion, Politics, and
the Law, chap. 1: 17-23 ("The Political Aftermath")
Text
Summary 1 due in class from
students with last
names beginning in A-L.
John Locke, A
Letter Concerning
Toleration, 38 ("Having thus at length freed...") -58
Text
Summary 2due in class from students who did not complete Text Summary 1.
Optional Reading:
Schotten/Stevens,
Religion, Politics, and
the Law, chap. 1: 13-17
February
11
SPECIAL CLASS MEETING TIME: 6-9 p.m.
Janet R. Jakobsen
and Ann
Pellegrini, Love the Sin. Sexual
Regulations and the
Limits of Religious Tolerance (2004): pp. 45–73 (notes on pp.
157–58) [coursepack]
Beverley
McLachlin, "Freedom of Religion and
the Rule of Law. A Canadian Perspective," and Jean Bethke Elshtain,
"Response," chapter 2 in Douglas Farrow, Recognizing Religion in a Secular
Society: Essays in Pluralism, Religion, and Public Policy (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004), 14-40
[coursepack]
You may also print your
personal copy from this
online edition: (1) From the Table of Contents, click on chapter 2: "Freedom of Religion and
the Rule of Law." (2) Click on "Export to PDF" (at the very bottom of the screen) and fill in page numbers: 33 to 61. (3) Verify that you have downloaded pages 14-40 of the book.
M.
H. Ogilvie, Religious
Institutions and the Law in Canada, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law,
2003) [book on reserve]
February
25
Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, "On
Civil Religion,"
book IV, chapter VIII of On the Social Contract (1762), trans.
Donald A. Cress, in Basic Political Writings (Indianapolis:
Hackett, 1987) [coursepack]
|
French
original
Robert
N. Bellah, "Civil
Religion in America"
(1967), from Beyond Belief [coursepack]
Carl Schmitt, Political
Theology. Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty (1922),
trans. George Schwab (University of Chicago Press, 1985)
[purchase book]:
chap. 1
Archbishop
of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, "Civil
and Religious
Law in England: A Religious Perspective" (Lecture before the Royal
Courts of Justice, February 7, 2008 [coursepack]
Sherene Razack, "The Muslims Are Coming: The 'Sharia Debate' in Canada," from Casting Out: The Eviction of Muslims from Western Law and Politics (2008) [information on how to access this material to be communicated by e-mail; please print out personal copy].
Wendy Kennett, "Religious Arbitration in North America" in Gender and Justice in Family Law Disputes, ed. Samia Bano (2017) [information on how to access this material to be communicated by e-mail; please print out personal copy]
Text
Preparation 5 due in class from anyone who has not completed a Text Preparation assignment.
Divorce
Act - see in particular
21.1 (1) "Affidavit re removal of barriers to religious remarriage"
April 8 - TBA
FINAL
EXAM - TBA (length of exam: 90 minutes)
SYLLABUS STATEMENTS REQUIRED BY McMASTER UNIVERSITY
McMaster University has a
strict policy concerning Academic Integrity: "You are expected to
exhibit honesty and use ethical behaviour in all aspects of the
learning process. Academic credentials you earn are rooted in
principles of honesty and academic integrity. Academic dishonesty is to
knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or could result in
unearned academic credit or advantage. This behaviour can result in
serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of
credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: "Grade of F
assigned for academic dishonesty"), and/or suspension or expulsion from
the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic
dishonesty. For information on the various types of academic
dishonesty please refer to the Academic
Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3.
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: 1.
Plagiarism, e.g., the submission of work that is not one's own or for
which other credit has been obtained. 2. Improper collaboration in
group work. 3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and
examinations."
Please let me know if you have any questions on how this policy applies
to your work for this course.
Requests for Relief for Missed Academic Term Work (McMaster Student Absence Form [MSAF]). In the event of an absence for medical or other reasons, students should review and follow the Academic Regulation in the Undergraduate Calendar "Requests for Relief for Missed Academic Term Work."
Privacy of Information. Some of the communications among
the instructor and the students in this course will be over e-mail.
Students should be aware that, when they access the electronic
components of this course, private information such as first and last
names and e-mail addresses may become apparent to all other students in
the same course. Continuation in this course will be deemed consent to
this disclosure. If you have any questions or concerns about such
disclosure please discuss this with the course instructor.
Academic Accommodation for Religious, Indigenous or Spiritual Observances (RISO).
Students requiring academic accommodation based on religious, indigenous or spiritual observances should follow the procedures set out in the RISO policy. Students requiring a RISO accommodation should submit their request to their Faculty Office normally within 10 working days of the beginning of term in which they anticipate a need for accommodation or to the Registrar's Office prior to their examinations. Students should also contact their instructors as soon as possible to make alternative arrangements for classes, assignments, and tests.
Extreme Circumstances. The University reserves the right to change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances (e.g., severe weather, labour disruptions, etc.). Changes will be communicated through regular McMaster communication channels, such as McMaster Daily News, A2L and/or McMaster e-mail.
(905)
525-9140, ext. 24759* 
danahol@mcmaster.ca* 
https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/danahol/
updated March 8, 2019
Students are asked to silence and stow away cell phones or handheld electronic devices prior to the start of the class period.
The use of handheld electronic devices is not permitted during class and tutorial meetings.
Please do not eat during class.
Virginia
Statute
for Religious Freedom (authored by Thomas Jefferson, 1777; adopted
by Virginia House of Delegates, 1786) [handed out in class on
Jan. 7; or print out from the linked file]
CBC
Radio "The
Current," March 31, 2008 – including documentary by Kathleen Goldhar,
"Faith in the Law" [details on how to listen to be communicated by
e-mail]