Sociopolitical Implications of World Religions

Catalog description

Sociopolitical interaction between civilizations as defined by their religious cultures will be considered from a historical and contemporary perspective, with an emphasis on the latter. This course will explore practical implications for GLDP professionals in their work in other cultures and societies. It will do so by focusing primarily on the specific features of Christian, Muslim, and Far Eastern Confucian societies and their implications in world affairs. Beyond the discovery of data, their analysis and their evaluation, this course will attempt to answer questions such as; to what extent do current clashes between the above (and other) societies have a potential for resolution, and what avenues can be suggested. Is secularization destined to remain a typically Western and Christian phenomenon or is it the inevitable destiny of all cultures. Is religious universalism necessarily a Western particularism wrongly coded as universal. In considering these and other questions, the course will evaluate different competing models, in particular the views of Samuel Huntington and its critics, as well as the vision expressed in Kant’s Perpetual Peace and its impact on the creation of the United Nations.