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Politics and Religion in the Modern World (2026/2027: Semester 2 – Spring)

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Cursusdoel

After completing the course students are able to

think critically and with nuance about the nature of politics and of religion relative to each other;
analyze how contemporary relations between politics and religion have taken shape across time relative to imperialism, nationalism and nation-state formation;
analyze politics and religion from multiple angles of approach, considering the role of individuals; of material culture and rituals; of formal institutions and church-state relations; and of non-governmental social movements and organizations;
compare and contrast the politics of religion and religions of politics across countries, regions and time;

Vakinhoudelijk

This course counts towards HUM or SSC major. Track finisher for POL, REL or HIS.
This is a course that aims at understanding the relationship between religion and politics. This relation has been central to how our societies have taken shape. At the same time, our ideas about what politics is, what religion is, and what role these should play in our societies is something about which we can disagree intensely. Why is this such a difficult issue?
In order to untangle and examine this, this course focuses on role of four core processes – globalization, nation-state formation, colonialism and gender – in giving shape to contemporary relations between politics and religion. In the first place, it offers a sweeping historical survey, starting with imperialism, the French and Haitian Revolutions and modern state formation. This leads into contemporary geopolitics, religious nationalism (Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Confucian …) and socio-cultural contests (over sexuality, abortion, education, migration, and more). A central aim of the course is to understand how recurring questions of political community (who has power, how and why?) are informed by and inform struggles over the place, role and nature of religion.
We will address these questions in an interdisciplinary fashion, where politics, history and religious studies encounter one another. So another purpose for the course is to stretch and deepen your interdisciplinarity: the range of questions, approaches, and resources with which you can grapple and respond to politics and religion in the modern world that has shaped us and which we now shape.

Format
The course will consist of interactive lectures and seminar-style discussion, including ones that are student-organized and student-led.