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Regular version of the site
2020/2021

Religion, Governance and Policy-Making

Type: Minor
When: 3, 4 module
Instructors: Dmitry Dubrovsky
Language: English
ECTS credits: 5
Contact hours: 60

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course takes thematic approach to the challenge of policy-making and governance in relations with the religious actors and organizations. It studies the issues behind policy-making processes and public policy in the developed as well as developing nations to understand the complex array of factors which influence governments and politicians notably religious and theological groups, sects, mainstream religious congregations etc. The course examines the role that political institutions and social changes play in determining the direction of government policies, explains the importance of political and social issues within the relevant social, cultural and historical context, and draws extensive examples from different regions of the world The political management of religious change in Europe and emerging economies of the world including the dwindling attendance in churches, the growing presence of Muslim religious practices and the increase in people with no religious affiliation  The course shall study the impact of the religion in the return to the conservative and populist politics world wide  The course shall have a global outlook in analysing the comparative impact of the religious organizations in the policy making spaces.  The policymaking and governance of religion in regional institutions like the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights  The influence of religion on political parties and party affiliation in different parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, and the role of religious organizations as political actors
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • this course will provide you with substantial knowledge, comparative material and critical analytical tools to gain deeper insights into - and educate your judgment on - the principled issues at stake in the various liaisons between religion and politics in the policy making spheres
  • students will be introduced to the main trends and current affairs in the politico-religious landscape of Europe. This will include comparisons with the landscape in other parts of the world, in particular the US.
  • the course will introduce the sociological theories of secularization and de-secularization (the historical processes and their underlying causes).
  • students will learn about the debates in theology and political theory on the viability and continued justification of secularism versus the alternatives of religiously based world views.
  • students will be given the chance to consider if secularism as a political ideal should be abandoned in the face of the challenges it has faced of late
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • An overview of major trends in the interrelationship between religion and politics in Europe
  • Familiarity with the most important political actors that shape religion policy in Europe
  • A working knowledge of the most important theoretical and ideological concepts that shape the interrelationship between religion and politics in European societies.
  • An overview of the religious diversities of European societies and the policies adopted in order to manage these diversities
  • Ability to contextualize religio-political changes and contestations in different parts of the world and the impact it has on the policy making, to understand where these processes come from and to discuss where they may be headed
  • Ability to examine and assess policies on religion in different parts of Europe and in the world in general , and to discuss their influence on religious practice
  • Ability to analyze and summarize court cases and policy papers on religion from around the world in the context of ECHR, UNHCR and ICPPR perspective.
  • Ability to read, systematize and summarize research articles from a broad variety of different disciplines
  • Ability to formulate independent research questions on the interrelationship between politics and religion and the process of policy making.
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Religion and Secularism, Part 1: Rethinking Secularism
  • Religion and Secularism, part Is Europe an Exceptional Case?
  • Challenged secular cases. post modern policy spaces in EU
  • Challenged secular cases: Example 2: New Age in Europe – Fact or Myth?
  • The agenda setting by not so transparent religious organizations
  • Islam and the Models of Church and State Relations in Europe.
  • Of the utmost relevance: Global politics and the Resurrection of Religion
  • Religion and Politics the policy making spaces
  • Political Climate Change – From multiculturalism to assertive conservative social identity – Shaping up of the policy space
  • Populism and the rise of the Conservatism on Christian Europe
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Final essay
  • non-blocking Presentation
  • non-blocking Final essay
  • non-blocking Presentation
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (4 module)
    0.6 * Final essay + 0.4 * Presentation
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Arkin, M. M. (1995). Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-first Century. By Harvey Cox. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1994. 346 pp. $24.00. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.23C433B1
  • Hobsbawm, E. J. (2013). Fractured Times : Culture and Society in the Twentieth Century. New York, New York: The New Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=796935
  • Shah, T. S., & Toft, M. D. (2006). Why God is Winning. Foreign Policy, (155), 38. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=f5h&AN=21359009
  • Yallop, D. A. (2012). In God’s Name. New York: Perseus Books, LLC. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=699438

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Henneron, L. (2006). Women’s Movement and French Secularism: When Feminism Confronts the Republican Ideal. Conference Papers —— American Political Science Association, 1–12. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=26944859
  • Peace, T. (2016). Religion And Populism In Britain. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.925204