RELIGION & POLITICS IN AMERICA, SPRING 2011

THE MIDTERM EXAM

DUE: Friday, March 25, by 5 pm. Turn in via box outside my office (Old Main 204B) OR e-mail as an attachment to cgilbert@gustavus.edu (I will e-mail you back to confirm I received and opened your attached file)

Answer TWO of the essay questions below. Your final document should be no more than 6 pages (or roughly 3 pages per essay, with regular fonts and margins). Answers need not be equal in length but will be weighted equally in grading (50 points each, 100 points total). Your professor believes 6 pages is more than sufficient to answer these questions well. Feel free to use any and all books, readings, notes, or other material from class; you should not consult any additional sources to answer. Additional advice: your answers should give evidence that you have taken this course.

Citing: Where appropriate, citations to quotations and other specific information from our class texts should be done using in-text citations; here is an example (WCB 144). QUOTE SPARINGLY from the course books; use your own words to express your ideas. No final bibliography or works cited page is necessary or desired for this assignment.

Honor code. It is expected that you will not discuss the substance of this exam with any of your fellow classmates; evidence of noncompliance will result in a failing grade for this exam. Please include the Honor Code statement (see syllabus, p. 5) or some similar language in your paper.

QUESTIONS:

1. The United States Senate hired a chaplain in 1789 – its first year of existence – and has had one ever since. From the perspective of the First Amendment’s religion clauses, should the United States Senate be allowed to employ an official chaplain? Explain and justify your point of view, citing and discussing at least two Supreme Court cases that support your perspective.

2. In the time period from the arrival of European settlers to America (1605 or so) through the end of the Civil War (1865), discuss the two most important ways in which religion influenced the development of United States government and/or political culture. As part of your answer, briefly discuss whether these religious influences are still part of U.S. government and/or political culture today.

3. Choose two of the presidents discussed by Randall Balmer, and compare and contrast their uses of religion for political purposes. Then using your two chosen presidents as examples, conclude by discussing in general the pros and cons that the NEXT president (whether taking office in 2013 or 2017) should consider as s/he envisions how her/his religion might be a useful political tool.

4. Discuss two ways in which religion motivates Americans to engage in political action through some form of group activity. As part of your answer, discuss the ways in which religious motivations for political action are different or unique, compared to non-religious motivations for political action.