Political Science 305
Religion and Politics

Instructor: Dr. Troy Gibson
Contact Information:
Office Location: LAB 418
Email: troy.gibson@usm.edu
Phone: 601-266-4277 (voicemail available)
Office Hours: TR 9:30-11am; Fr 11-12:30pm

Course Information:

The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the relationship between religion and politics primarily in the United States.  We will examine the religious roots of constitutionalism and the American founding.  We will explore boundaries between religion and the state both in public policy and law.  We will also assess the contemporary impact that religion is playing in American political behavior (elections, partisanship, etc.). 

Required Reading:

• Religion and Politics in the United States, 5th edition.  Kenneth Wald and Allison Calhoun-Brown.
• Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment, 2nd edition.  John Witte, Jr.

Other readings will be made available to you as handouts, on e-reserve, or online.

Course Requirements and Grading:

Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 30%
*Research Paper 20%
Participation and Daily Grades: 20%

*Write a 10-12 page paper (double-spaced, minimum 6 sources including two books with NO internet-only websources; use APSA style guide located for download on my webpage) on either of the following topics:
1.  A key figure or thinker and their views regarding the relationship between religion and politics (e.g., Althusias, Marx, Augustine, Aquinas, Jefferson, John Adams, Patrick Henry, John Witherspoon, Groen Prinsterer, Abraham Kuyper, Francis Schaeffer, Martin Luther, ML King, , John Calvin, Joseph Smith, Carl Henry, Henry Fosdick, Wilhelm Ropke, James Cone, Walter Rauschenbusch, Abraham Lincoln, Oliver Cromwell, Constantine, Pope Ratzinger, etc.)
2.  Any key group and their views regarding the relationship between religion and politics (e.g., Calvinists, American Catholics, Theonomists, Lutherans, Muslim groups, Mormons, Nation of Islam, Jesuits, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State)

Class Policies:

• You may only use a laptop in class if you have documented authorization from a relevant agency (e.g., Student Disabilities Office).  Turn off or put on silent all cell phones so as not to distract other students or yourself.  Violations of this policy will result in a 5 point deduction from your test grade.
• While I will not take attendance, I will occasionally give an attendance or pop quiz.  Missing the quiz results in a zero configured in to your daily grade average.