RELIGST 19Q: Does religion divide us? Legal, political, and cultural perspectives from across the world
Course Description
Questions surrounding religion, especially when considered in relation to law, politics, and culture have always been of contentious nature. In this course, we will dissect this nature and explore the roots and reasons of such contention. We will pay special attention to the difficulty of defining religion legally, as well as to the meanings and practices of secularism and religious freedom. During the course, we will think critically about these issues in countries across the world with a comparative, interdisciplinary approach. Course readings will include academic writings by religion scholars, political scientists, historians, anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, and others as well as documents concerning legal cases. Assignments including participation in group projects/presentations and annotation of select readings will encourage students to establish their own understanding of the course material and deliberate with their peers as we discuss the contemporary debates and cases throughout the course.
We will ask the following questions as we navigate the readings and cases:
- How has religion been regulated by law in different times and places?
- What does religious freedom mean? What are the conceptual, political, and practical limits to religious freedom?
- Are religious controversies about religion?
- Why does religion get a bad name?
Meet the Instructor: Irmak Yazici
“I am a political scientist with a particular interest in how religion is defined, experienced, and regulated across the world. I was drawn to studying religion in relation to politics and culture because it generates more questions than answers! I study how religion and state affairs are separated (most of the time only in theory) in different contexts and the social, political, and historical paths that lead to the different forms secularism takes in these contexts. I also look at how religious controversies emerge and how freedom of expression comes into conflict with offense in such cases. Ironically, religious controversies can often be less about religion and more about other social and political factors. Although religion usually gets a bad name in politics and international relations, there are so many other factors that contribute to conflicts and controversies. Through my research and teaching, I aim to contribute to a better understanding of religion with respect to different social and political contexts. I am currently teaching in the COLLEGE program at Stanford and prior to that I taught political science courses at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for 8 years.”
