American Religion and the Politics of Gender and Sexuality

Religious beliefs about gender and sexuality have long played a vital role in American politics, vividly evident in debates over such issues as birth control, pornography, funding for AIDS research, abstinence-only sex education, sexual harassment, same-sex marriage, abortion, and more. Educated citizens need to understand the impact of these religiously inflected debates on our political culture. This course explores the centrality of sex to religion and politics in the U.S., emphasizing Christianity (both Protestant and Catholic forms) and its weighty social and political role regulating the behavior of women and men, children and teens, as well as its uses in legal and judicial decisions. Alongside scholarly readings in gender and sexuality, we will discuss popular devotional texts on gender and sexuality with a political bent. Students will leave the course able to analyze how religious beliefs about sex shape specific gender norms central to U.S. politics and the law.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Eth; AS HUM; AS SD I; FA HUM; AR HUM; AS SC

American Religion and the Politics of Gender and Sexuality

AMERICAN CULTURE STUDIES 321B

Section 01