HENK03914U English - Free topic 16: Hellfire Nation: American Religion (exam form A,B,C)

Volume 2015/2016
Content

Any understanding of globalization and the 21st Century must include an understanding of the growth, development and conflict inherent in religion. The United States oozes religion today, yesterday, and tomorrow. Americans are among the world’s most religious adherents, overwhelmingly in Christian congregations, each with its own kind of “American Jesus.” The nation’s political, social, and economic institutions, and its foreign policy, are informed, even infected, by religious sensibilities. Evangelical, born-again faiths are as vital to the national story as are the mainline Catholic and Protestant groups. Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism (not strictly a religion), among others, are growing rapidly, as are a thousand sects in the “new religious” movements. This course investigates the jeremiad of a “hellfire nation” from its foundations in Calvinist theology to the evolving beliefs of everyday citizens and the actions of Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama in the contemporary era. Course participants are expected to follow the 2016 presidential primaries and the ways the global struggle among religious groups informs weekly news stories.

Readings include the most current texts on history, popular culture, and informative articles.

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 28
  • Preparation
  • 176,75
  • Total
  • 204,75
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Other
Criteria for exam assesment