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INAF-423 American Diplomacy, Religion, and the Politics of International Religious Freedom
Fall only
Note: This class will be held at the Berkley Center, 3307 M Street, NW, Suite 200
Religion is assuming an increasingly critical role in international affairs. Although the secularization theory holds that faith will diminish with the advance of modernity, the 21st century is literally brimming with religious ideas, actors and communities—for good and for ill. Religion influences societies and politics from China to Saudi Arabia to Cuba, and transnational trends from terrorism to the spread of democracy. Given the religious nature of the American people, it is perhaps surprising that U.S. diplomacy has had considerable difficulty engaging this new world of faith. At the same time, the United States is the only country in the world with an official policy of advancing international religious freedom (IRF). Could that policy provide a vehicle for U.S. diplomacy to engage religion in the world, or is advancing religious freedom too disruptive? Using IRF policy as the starting point, this course will explore the contradictions and continuities in U.S. foreign policy in a world of faith. It will examine the origins and performance of IRF policy and its prospects for development. Along the way it will explore the attitudes about religion and religious freedom which have helped to mold diplomatic actions. It will ask whether U.S. strategies have reduced religious persecution, or advanced religious freedom, and what impact they have had on terrorism and the spread of democracy in the greater Middle East.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Course syllabi
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Fall '09:
Farr, T.
(description)
Fall '09:
Farr, T.
(file download)
Additional syllabi may be available in prior academic years.
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