DESCRIPTION: An exploration of the relationship between biblical faith and contemporary social and political life, with special attention to current patterns of evangelical engagement with politics in the United States and around the world. The course will survey the diverse forms of contemporary evangelical political engagement as well as the varied content of evangelical views on selected public issues, including human rights, the environment, sexuality and family issues, poverty, church-state concerns, and war. It will also reflect on the current backlash against evangelical engagement with politics in the United States, consider approaches emphasizing Christian discipleship rather than political engagement, take seriously the perspectives of younger evangelicals, and point to resources for evangelicals that are provided by Catholic and Jewish approaches to public life as well as voices from the Global South.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Knowledge: to increase understanding of contemporary evangelical social and political engagement. Skills: to foster an improved ability to address diverse Christian and non-Christian audiences on morally sensitive social and political issues of our day. Attitudes: to deepen both confidence and humility in relating biblical faith to the public life of modern societies.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Every time ministers preach, teach, and counsel within the church on issues of sociopolitical importance, and every time ministers speak to the media, talk with people of other faiths or no faith, and advocate for their views in the political process, the relevance of the materials of this course will manifest itself.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet daily for four-hour sessions for two weeks. Lectures will be mixed with discussions, in which students will be expected to participate based on careful completion of the assigned reading.

REQUIRED READING:

Boyd, Gregory A. The Myth of a Christian Nation. Zondervan, 2005.

Claiborne, Shane, and Chris Haw. Jesus for President. Zondervan, 2008.

Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Who Are We? Critical Reflections and Hopeful Possibilities. Eerdmans, 2000.

Gushee, David. The Future of Faith in American Politics. Baylor, 2008.

Hendricks, Obery. The Politics of Jesus. New York: Doubleday, 2006.

SELECT ONE OF THESE BOOKS FOR REVIEW:

Schwarz, Sidney. Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World. Jewish Lights, 2006.

Heyer, Kristin E. Prophetic and Public: The Social Witness of U.S. Catholicism. Georgetown, 2006.

Freston, Paul. Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America. Oxford, 2008.

Lumsdaine, David Halloran. Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Asia. Oxford, 2008.

Ranger, Terence O. Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa. Oxford, 2008.

Note: This reading load is heavy. If at all possible, read the books in advance of the course.