Religion and Politics in the Fall Election (New)

Alternate Tuesdays • Noon-1:30 p.m. • Auditorium / Live Streamed

September 17 • October 1, 15, 29 • November 12, (26 no class) • December 3

Click here for the Live Stream link for this course.

The First Amendment has kept religion from having an official role in government but also has guaranteed that religion could be freely practiced. This has resulted in a legal dance between the two, with the Supreme Court as arbiter of the proper role of each. The course will start by summarizing key high court decisions on this issue. In the weeks following, we will look at several areas of public life where ethics and morality may affect how people vote. These include abortion, immigration, gun rights, truth and accuracy in media, climate change, the wars in Israel-Palestine and Ukraine, the Christian-nationalism-vs.-secularism debate and the question of respect and civility in the election campaign. The aim is to provide information on these issues, not advocacy. After the election itself, the final sessions will provide a forum for assessing where the nation stands and how we can go forward despite our deeply held differences.

Instructor: Ben Hubbard      Coordinator: Jeanette Reese 

Check out the video about our course that we made for the Fall 2024 Open House.