This course will explore some of the complex and contentious ethical issues that arise at the intersections of religion and politics. Issues to be raised from religious perspectives will include: what is the purpose and role of government; is it ethically permissible to challenge political authority; whether religious perspectives should be allowed to enter the political sphere; if so, how might such perspectives influence political policies responsibly and effectively; what is the nature of the ethical obligation to act politically; how are competing and/or contradictory religious perspectives adjudicated in the political domain; and what is the value of religious views to the welfare of a democracy.

At the beginning of the course we will study several prominent Christian theologians regarding the relationship between religion and politics. We will examine how the theological, ethical, and anthropological presuppositions and claims of Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin influence their understandings of the functions and limitations of government. We will then consider the work of Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, with regard to contemporary ethical issues in the United States. A few of the issues to be discussed include domestic public policies, international relations and military policies, the use of violence and nonviolence to achieve religious and political ends, economic justice, life/death issues, and the intersections of religion and politics in social issues. This course is appropriate for all Saint Mary's students who have completed the core requirement in Religious Studies and satisfies the RLST Major for Ethics.