RELIGION & POLITICS IN AMERICA, Spring 2011

SOME PAPER TOPICS FROM PREVIOUS SEMESTERS

The list (in no particular order below spring 2009) covers just about every topic from the last four times this course was taught (spring 2009, spring 2007, fall 2004, spring 2003). Should give you a sense of what students have done and hopefully spark your own thoughts about paper topics.

Spring 2009 topics:

Historical background of Pledge of Allegiance

Constitutionality of Pledge of Allegiance

Role of religion in 2004 presidential election in Ohio

George Washington and religious liberty

Gay rights battles in Protestant denominations

Scientific and theological dimensions of embryonic stem cell research

The state church in Sweden, comparisons with US religion and politics

The United Church of Christ and the roots of Obama’s foreign policy

Religious and political activism of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Case study of a local church’s social activism and local opposition to it

The Religious Right and US foreign policy

Philosophical and Christian roots of US religion and politics patterns

Catholic voters in battleground states, 2004 and 2008 elections

Anti-Mormon bias, Mitt Romney, in the 2008 Republican presidential nomination contest

Catholic perspectives on contraception, 1870s to present day, and US politics

Topics from before Spring 2009:

role of religion in 2004 presidential election in Ohio

theological foundations of environmentalism, links from religious beliefs to political activism for environmental causes

influence of religious affiliation on US voting patterns in last 20 years (emphasis on changes over time)

international faith based organizations’ activities, controversies raised by these activities (i.e. Christian groups proselytizing as they do social service work in developing nations)

future of the Christian Right in US politics

motivations (theological and political) for violent acts directed against abortion providers

religion and politics in the writings and political activism of Malcolm X

ELCA social statements on poverty

Supreme Court decisions restricting free exercise of religion (Oregon v. Smith and others)

Civil War-era sermons on the religious meaning of the war (comparing southern and northern preachers)

theological and religious arguments for/against same sex marriage

comparison of Kennedy/1960 with Kerry/2004 (and/or Al Smith/1928) as Catholic candidates for president

“global gag rule” on using US funds to support family planning and abortion services in developing nations

religious dimensions of social welfare policies, comparing USA and Great Britain

feminist theology and its impact on denominational discussions of women’s roles in churches

why Colorado Springs, CO became a hub of Christian Right organizations

comparison of Madison and Jefferson’s views on church-state relations

comparison of Jefferson and John Adams on church-state relations

disputes within Episcopal Church over status of gays and lesbians/GLBT within the church

growth of Evangelical Protestantism in Latin America, implications for US religion and politics

political activism of Bob Edgar (former member of Congress, head of National Council of Churches)

religious and theological arguments in support of slavery prior to the Civil War

religious dimensions of the temperance movement (Prohibition)

religious dimensions of the movement for women’s suffrage

legal disputes about “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance

C. Everett Koop (former US Surgeon General and a very interesting political figure!)

the religious left – what it consists of, how it could be more influential in US politics

Biblical support for the death penalty (biblical arguments for/against it)

role of black churches in the civil rights movement

Buddhist perspectives on the War on Terror

issues surrounding religion in US public schools (student religious expression, prayer, etc.)

religious perspectives on abortion

Catholic perspectives on abortion (emphasis on the plural, more than one perspective)

analysis of President Bush’s faith based initiatives and their impact (and constitutional questions)

Catholic voting trends, 1960-present

established churches in US states in the early 1800s, why establishment eventually was eliminated

“God Is Not a Republican” (the title conveys the topic!)

The Scopes “Monkey” trial of 1925 (teaching of evolution in schools)