Religion and Politics in World History

Catalog description

How have religions exercised political power to shape the history of human societies? This course takes a comparative approach to a major historical problem, examining case studies from the history of Christianity alongside cases from the histories of Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, or another of the world's religions. Students will study major religious documents as well as primary sources for understanding political and legal contexts. Emphasis is placed on understanding how religious ideas shaped historical conflicts and how these conflicts reshaped the history of the religions themselves.