Eugene:
My point was a serious one about how one organizes a course, and
reminder that when people teach a course to argue for a viewpoint and to
ignore other information it undermines academic integrity. The fact is
this: a "History of the Influence of Christianity in American history"
taught in a fundamentalist Christian school would not likely teach many
of the topics I suggested; most American history coursres would teach a
number of them, as well as teach about Puritans, the two great
awakenings, the role of religious people in the antislavery movement and
the civil rights movement.
If Rick wants to play the list game, I think it only fair to explore the
issue.
Paul Finkelman
Volokh, Eugene wrote:
Folks: I'm sure that people on this list would be able to compile
lists of the great sins of atheists and atheistic regimes; of Muslims;
of Jews; of Catholics; of Protestants; and more. They would also be
able to compile lists of the good things that each of those groups have
done. Whether religion (or irreligion) generally, or certain
denominations in particular, are on balance malign or benign influences
on the nation is a topic that has been debated for centuries, and has
filled volumes. It can easily fill days and days of list discussion,
too, should people choose to embark on it.
But do we really think that posting such lists -- no matter how much
the post may entertain the author -- will be helpful to thoughtful,
reasoned list discussion of the law of government and religion?
The list custodian
Paul Finkelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
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 a! ttacks 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
>
> 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 Poi! nts 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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>
>
>
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>
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_______________________________________________
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To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
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Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be
viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read
messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and
list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to
others.
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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_______________________________________________
To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
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Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private.
Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can
read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the
messages to others.
--
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]
_______________________________________________
To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private.
Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can
read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the
messages to others.
