This course examines the intersections of religion, race, and racism. Recently, scholars of religion have demonstrated that religious identities are often racialized as well. In this course, we will discover that religion and race are both modern categories rooted in post-enlightenment ideas about what it means to be human. We will see how the establishment of these religious and racial categories led to new hierarchies and inequalities. We will discuss how post-enlightenment thinkers linked religion and race, and how their ideas played a role in european imperialism. We will also investigate how the discipline of religious studies has developed its analytical tools with a racialized understanding of religion. The course will examine case studies in which religion has been racialized, and consider the political ramifications of these examples. In particular, we will think about the impact of white supremacy on black religion in the united states, the complicated relationship between antisemitism and islamophobia, and contemporary islamophobia in the us. Finally, we will explore the possibilities of anti-racism through faith-based scholarship and activism.
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