Dear Rick:
I would assume that UC has equivalent courses such as "History of
Christianity"; "Renaissance/Reformation" and a number of early modern
European courses and late antiquity courses that deal almost entirely
with the Church and Church history. There are probably courses on the
Bible taught in various departments at UC as they are in most
universities. Moreover, the history of religion pops up all over the
place. When I used to teach US Survery in a history department I always
spent at least a week on the Puritans and assigned a book about them.
My discussion of 19th century reform movements included a good deal on
the 2nd great awakening; I always had a lecture on the 1st great
awkening in a survey course. Every colonial history course I ever took
(or knew of) had a huge section on religion. In anything, colonialists
probably spend too much time on the Puritans.
Furthermore, I would imagine that a great number of the courses below
would have content about Christians and Christianity, including
"Storytelling," "Gender, Sexuality, and Identity in Literature," (lots
of interesting religious issues there, from the problem of guilt to
fundamentalist hombophobia) "Jewish History," (had to teach it without
discussing Christianity); Turning Points in Jewish History (same
comment); Issues in African History (from Missionaries to Bishop Tutu it
will show up); Holocaust Literature, Islam, etc. will all have to
discuss Christianity and its relationship to other faiths and events.
I think a course on the "Influence of Christianity in the US" would be
interesting and certainly valid. Such a course would lectures and
readings on the following (in no particular order):
The KKK (and the use of the Cross as a symbol of terrorism and hatred;
Christian "identity" movements in the last 25 years
Father Coughlin's antisemitism
The hanging of witches in Salem and Quakers in Boston
The use of Christian theology to defend (as well as attack) slavery
The use of conversion of slaves to help prevent resistance to slavery
Ownership of slaves by churches
The utter failure of the Protestant Churches in the South to the take a
strong stand in favor of legalizing slave marriages
The persecution of Mormons and the murder of Joseph Smith
The death penalty (fortunately reduced to exile) for a Jew in colonial
Maryland because he denied the divinity of Christ
The whipping and jailing of Baptist ministers in Virginia in the
Revolutionary period.
The intellectual intolerance of the 1920s (and more recent periods) by
prohibiting the teaching of evolution in the public schools
The forced reading of Protestant version of the Bible imposed on
Catholics in the 19th century
The attacks on Al Smith's presidential campaign (and also attack on John
F. Kennedy) because they were Catholic.
The strong stand against integration taken by virtually ever southern
Christian minister in the 1950s and early 1960s.
The influence of religious groups in undermining Indian culture and
religion and forcing Indian children not to learn their own language.
The use of Protestant theology (and the influence of Christian leaders)
to justify wars against Indians, particularly in the colonial period.
Yes, it would be a great course; I would love to teach it.
Paul Finkelman
--
Paul Finkelman
Chapman Distinguished Professor
University of Tulsa College of Law
3120 East 4th Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-2499
918-631-3706 (office)
918-631-2194 (fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Rick Duncan wrote:
If you haven't read the complaint
<http://www.acsi.org/webfiles/webitems/attachments/007875_2.%20ACSI%20CA%20Complaint.pdf>
in the Association of Christian Schools v. UC case, I encourage you to
do so. Although UC denied approval to courses concerning
"Christianity's Influence on American History" and "Christianity and
Morality in American Literature" as being too narrow and not consistent
"with knowledge generally accepted in the collegiate community," at the
same time it approved courses such as these:
Social Commentary in Popular Music
Baseball, Literature and Culture
Sports Fiction/Non Fiction
Storytelling
The Roots of Rock Music ("yeah, yeah, yeah")
Gender Roles in Literature
Ethnic Experience in Literature
Gender, Sexuality, and Identity in Literature
Literature of the Counterculture
Literature from the 60's Movement
Filipino Heritage Studies
Intro to Rabbinic Literature
Jewish History
Turning Points in Jewish History
Issues in African History
Raza Studies
History of India
Mexican History
Modern Irish History
Asian Literature
Holocaust Literature
Chicano Literature
Beat Literature (like, cool, man!)
Women's Literature
Intro to Buddhism
Islam
And the beat goes on. There were many similar courses that were
also approved.
Now these facts are from the complaint. UC may reply that it has not
approved Beat Literature or Baseball Literature or the other
narrow courses from specialized points of view. But if these are the
facts. this case looks very much like the kind of religious gerrymander
we saw in Lukumi where a person could kill an animal for almost any
reason except religious ritual. And it also looks like the kind of
subjective, individualized, discretionary procedures that trigger strict
scrutiny under Sherbert and the individualized process rule.
I have only glanced at the 108-page complaint, but it sure looks to me
like the Pls have a strong claim of viewpoint and religious
discrimination. Indeed, there seems to be at least a possibility of
denominational discrimination in the approval process. It would not
surprise me at all if UC settles this one as quickly and quietly as
possible.
Rick Duncan
Rick Duncan
Welpton Professor of Law
University of Nebraska College of Law
Lincoln, NE 68583-0902
"When the Round Table is broken every man must follow either Galahad or
Mordred: middle things are gone." C.S.Lewis, Grand Miracle
"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or
numbered." --The Prisoner
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