In an age of ever-growing religious diversity, the United States is confronting a host of complex questions regarding conflicts between religion and government—what is typically described in terms of the relationship between church and state.  The goals of this course are two-fold; (1) first, to understand how First Amendment principles of both religious liberty and non-establishment govern the relationship between church and state and (2) second, to consider how the Jewish community, as a paradigmatic religious minority, should engage in ongoing debates about the evolving relationship between church and state.

 

 

Sample Readings:

• Court cases including Reynolds v. United States (1879), Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), and Bob Jones University v. United States (1983)