CARS 2800Z - Religion and American Civics- American Civic Literacy

• Society & Justice

• Students will be able to explain how religious communities, practices, and ideas shape civic identity and public discourse.
• Students will be able to critically evaluate perspectives on the relationship between religion and democracy, analyzing case studies and historical texts.
• Students will be able to analyze and interpret primary civic and religious texts as expressions of lived religious and civic experience.
• Students will be able to communicate complex ideas about religion’s impact on democracy in the U.S. clearly and persuasively through written essays, oral discussions, and multimedia projects.
• Students will be able to analyze, interpret, and evaluate primary civic and religious works such as the entire U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, Adam Smith’s writings, etc.
• Students will be able to situate civic and religious texts within their historical and cultural contexts, including the United States of American founding, slavery and abolition, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement.
• Students will be able to explain relationships among civic, religious, and economic thought across multiple eras, comparing Puritan sermons, Enlightenment philosophy, abolitionist speeches, and modern civil rights writings.
• Students will be able to critically assess how religious groups and individuals negotiate their place in U.S. civic life through rituals, narratives, and institutions.