TH 748601 syllabus (Spring 2015) Page 1 of 3

Theology 7487 Boston College, Spring 2017

Professor Erik Owens Office: Boisi Center, 24 Quincy Rd. Class meets: Thursdays 2:00-4:30pm Office Hours: Tue. 9am - 12pm & by appt. email: erik.owens@bc.edu Office phone: (617) 552-1861

Course description: This seminar explores the religious and ethical dimensions of citizenship, with attention to the points at which religious and political allegiances conflict or appear to conflict. With an eye toward the contemporary American context, we will draw upon diverse political philosophies and political theologies for insight on the nature of this conflict between God and country, attempts to resolve it in theory and practice, and contemporary issues that exemplify it.

Among the many questions we will ask: How comprehensive are civic values and cvic obligations? Are there theological warrants for civic participation? How do contemporary liberal and civic republican philosophies envision good citizenship? What are the limits of religious tolerance in a diverse society? How can we educate the next generation to sustain the values and institutions we hold dear? And what does a Trump presidency mean for the ethics of citizenship?

Course requirements: 1. Participation (25%): Active and informed participation is crucial to understanding this material, so you

will be graded on a balance of quality and quantity of participation. Diverse points of view will be presented in the course readings, and they are likewise welcomed in the ensuing discussion. The baseline expectation is that students will attend every class, complete all the required reading, contribute to class discussions, and submit assignments on time. In addition, you are expected to: a. Lead/begin class discussion of the readings at least once during the semester, drawing from your

reflection paper (see below); b. Use the Canvas discussions feature to post and discuss relevant articles or comment on class

discussions, and to engage one another in replies; c. Attend three of the related campus events noted at end of this syllabus.

2. Weekly summary/reflection papers (25%): Each week students will write a one-page single-spaced paper reflecting on the assigned reading for that class. The paper will begin with an overview of the main theses (no more than four) of the readings, followed by reflections and questions that the texts inspired. [More details about these papers will be given in the first class.]

3. Final paper (50%): due Thursday May 11 by 6pm, via Canvas. Doctoral students will write approximately 20 pages (5,000 words); Masters students will write approximately 15 pages (~3,750 words).

The grading scale: A = excellent work (A= 94-100; A- = 90-93) B = good work (B+ = 87-89; B = 84-86; B- = 80-83) C = adequate work (C+ = 77-79; C = 74-76; C- = 70-73) D = poor work (D = 60-69) F = inadequate or insufficient work (59 & below)

TH 748601 syllabus (Spring 2015) Page 2 of 3

Laptop policy: Laptops, tablets and other electronic devices should only be used in class to access electronic class assignments, not for note-taking, web surfing, email or social media. Extensive research over the last decade has proven that students better comprehend and retain material from classroom lectures and conversations when they write notes on paper than when they type notes on laptops or tablets. Digital distraction is only part of the issue; there is a large benefit to cognition and retention when you are forced to summarize more quickly and to physically write your notes.

Disability services: If you are a student with a documented disability seeking reasonable accommodations in this course, please contact Kathy Duggan (617.552.8093 or dugganka@bc.edu) at Connors Family Learning Center regarding learning disabilities and ADHD; or Paulette Durrett (617.552.3470 or paulette.durrett@bc.edu) in the Disability Services Office regarding all other types of disabilities, including temporary disabilities. Advance notice and appropriate documentation are required for accommodations.

Academic integrity: I don’t need to elaborate on the obvious seriousness of academic integrity in an ethics course. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the university’s policy on this matter at www.bc.edu/integrity. Violations of academic integrity will be reported to your class dean and judged by your school’s academic integrity committee. If you are found responsible for violating the policy, penalties may include a failing grade as well as possible probation, suspension, or expulsion, depending on the seriousness and circumstances of the violation. Please talk to me or your class dean about any questions you may have.

Course Texts: Required readings: Most of the course readings are posted electronically on our Canvas course site; others will be available as e-books through the library or as digital files from the authors themselves. Many of the assigned books will also be placed on physical reserve at the library. I have not ordered books through the bookstore, but rather leave it to students to determine if you would rather purchase copies of some books that are otherwise available electronically. That being said, some of the books will be useful in class and beyond (especially if you are beginning to build a library in this area), and I encourage you to consider purchasing them. We will discuss this in our first class meeting. For book acquisition purposes, you should know that we will read substantial portions of these books: • Luke Bretherton, Resurrecting Democracy (Cambridge UP, 2015) • Eric Gregory, Politics and the Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic Citizenship

(Chicago 2008) • Iseult Honohan, Civic Republicanism (Routledge, 2002) • Cathleen Kaveny, Prophesy without Contempt: Religious Discourse in the Public Square

(Harvard, 2016) • Vincent Lloyd, Black Natural Law (Oxford 2016) • Robin Lovin, Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism (Cambridge, 1995) • Martha Nussbaum et al., For Love of Country: Debating the Limits of Patriotism (Beacon, 1996) • Charles Mathewes, A Theology of Public Life (Cambridge, 2007)

Recommended readings are also provided for each class session. While I do in fact suggest that you read each of these articles or books at some point, doing so each week would be an outsized accomplishment. I list them here primarily to offer additional bibliographical support for your research papers.

TH 748601 syllabus (Spring 2015) Page 3 of 3

Course Schedule Class Date Topic

1 Jan 19 Setting the Stage

2 Jan 26 American citizenship, in theory and practice

3 Feb 2 Liberal theories of citizenship

4 Feb 9 Civic republican theories of citizenship

5 Feb 16 Civil religion

6 Feb 23 Nationalism and cosmopolitanism

7 Mar 2 The Benedict option NB Meeting time TBD

- Mar 9 No class – Spring Break

8 Mar 16 Christian Realism NB Meeting time TBD

9 Mar 23 Augustinian Christian republicanism

- Mar 26 Class dinner, Chez Owens

10 Mar 30 Augustinian civic liberalism NB Seminar paper proposal due

11 Apr 6 Black Natural Law

- Apr 13 No class – Easter break 12 Apr 20 Civility and prophetic religion

13 Apr 27 Political organizing as faithful citizenship NB Seminar paper outline due

14 May 4 Global citizenship?

- May 11 NB Seminar paper due

Related campus events Items marked with * are required: * Feb 1 "An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story" Documentary screening and

panel discussion. (Simboli 100 [STM], 5:30pm)

* Feb 23 Lecture by Melissa Rogers, Special Assistant to President Obama, Executive Director, White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (Higgins 300, 6pm)

Mar 22 The Inaugural Wolfe Lecture on Religion and Public Life, by Alan Wolfe, Founding Director of the Boisi Center for Religion & American Public Life (Fulton 511, 7pm)

* Apr 7 Panel discussion of Cathleen Kaveny’s Prophecy without Contempt: Religious Discourse in the Public Square, with Rowan Williams, Charles Taylor, and Jonathan Lear. (Details TBA)

Apr 11 Erik Owens, “The Ethics of Citizenship in the Trump Era,” lunch colloquium. (Boisi Center 12pm)

TH 748601 syllabus (Spring 2015) Page 1 of 7

(1) Jan 19: Setting the Stage

Required reading: • Alan Jacobs, "The Watchmen: What Became of the Christian Intellectuals?" Harpers, Sep 2016.

Responses from: o Vincent Lloyd, "Why We Need a Public Black Theology for the 21st Century," Religion Dispatches

9.20.2016. o E.J. Dionne, "In Today's Troubling Times, Where are Our Faith Leaders?" WaPo 8.24.2016

• Russell Moore, "Can the Religious Right Be Saved?" First Things, January 2017 • Patrick Deneen, “A Catholic Showdown Worth Watching,” The American Conservative 2.6.2014. • Yuval Levin, “Taking the Long Way: Disciplines of the Soul are the Basis of a Liberal Society,” First

Things, October 2014. ]

Recommended: • Erik Owens, "Separation of Church and State," Boisi Papers on Religion & American Public Life, no.2.

[This is a primer on American church/state law. The complete set of primers in the Boisi Center Papers is here.]

• William Galston and William Kristol, "A New Center," Weekly Standard and Brookings Report, 11.29.2016.

• Richard Bellamy, Citizenship: A Very Short Introduction(Oxford 2008), p.1-26 (chap 1) [Entire book available online through the library.]

• E.J. Dionne, “Theologies of Democracy in a New Century” in Faith and Citizenship in Turbulent Times, Reflections 94.2 (Fall 2007): 10-15. [See all articles in that special issue.]

(2) Jan 26: American citizenship, in theory and practice

Required reading: • Rogers Smith, Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in American History (Yale, 1997), p. 1-39. • Michael McConnell, “Believers as Equal Citizens” in Rosenblum, ed., Obligations of Citizenship,

Demands of Faith (Princeton 2000), p. 90-110. • Russell Dalton, The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation is Reshaping American Politics (CQ

Press, 2008), p. 1-32. • Barack Obama, "Farewell Address," 1.10.2017.

Recommended: • Michael Schudson, The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life (Harvard, 1998), p. 1-10, 294-

314. • "The Civic Project of American Christianity," First Things, February 2015. Essays by Michael Hanby

("How the Public Significance of Christianity is Changing"), George Weigel ("To See Things As They Are") and Rod Dreher ("Christian and Countercultural").

• Harry Stout, “In Search of Christian America,” in special issue: "Faith and Citizenship in Turbulent Times," Reflections 94.2 (Fall 2007): 21-25. [See all articles in that special issue.]

TH 748601 syllabus (Spring 2015) Page 2 of 7

• Sigal Ben-Porath, "Citizenship in Wartime," in Citizenship Under Fire: Democratic Education in Times of Conflict (Princeton, 2006).

• Philip Hamburger, Separation of Church and State (Harvard 2002).

** Feb 1: "An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story"

• Details and trailer here. • Documentary screening (5:30pm) & panel discussion (6:30pm). Simboli 100 (STM)

(3) Feb 2: Liberal theories of citizenship

Required reading: • Stephen Macedo, Liberal Virtues:

Citizenship, Virtue, and Community in Liberal Constitutionalism (Clarendon, 1991), 1-38.

• Craig Calhoun, "Secularism, Citizenship and the Public Sphere," The Hedgehog Review 10.3 (Fall 2008): 7-21.

• Ronald Beiner, "Citizenship as a Comprehensive Doctrine," The Hedgehog Review 10.3 (Fall 2008): 23-33.

• Mark Lilla, "The End of Identity Liberalism," NYT 11.18.2016

Recommended: • Richard Bellamy, Citizenship: A Very Short

Introduction (Oxford 2008), p. 27-51 (chap 2)

• Michael Ignatieff, “The Myth of Citizenship,” in Ronald Beiner, ed., Theorizing Citizenship (SUNY, 1995), p. 53-77.

• William Galston, Liberal Pluralism: The Implications of Value Pluralism for Political Theory and Practice (Cambridge, 2002), p. 3-11.

• Derek Heater, A Brief History of Citizenship, p. 65-87. • John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (1685). • John Rawls, Political Liberalism (Columbia, 1993). • Jürgen Habermas, “Religion in the Public Sphere,” Eur Jnl of Philosophy 14.1 (April 2006):1–25. • Stephen Macedo, Liberal Virtues: Citizenship, Virtue, and Community in Liberal

Constitutionalism (Clarendon, 1991), chap 7 ("Liberal Virtues"). • Will Kymlicka and Wayne Norman, eds. Citizenship in Diverse Societies (Oxford, 2000). • Alan Wolfe, The Future of Liberalism (Knopf, 2009). • Stephen Macedo, Diversity and Distrust: Civic Education in a Multicultural Democracy (Harvard, 2000). • Eamonn Callan, Creating Citizens: Political Education and Liberal Democracy (Oxford, 1997).

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(4) Feb 9: Civic republican theories of citizenship Required reading: • Iseult Honohan, Civic Republicanism (Routledge, 2002): introduction (1-14); selections from chaps 1-4;

chap 5 (145-79). [71 pp total] • Michael Sandel, Democracy’s Discontent, chap 1 (3-24) and Conclusion (317-351).

Recommended: • Richard Bellamy, Citizenship: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2008), chap 2. • J.G.A. Pocock, “The Ideal of Citizenship Since Classical Times,” in Theorizing Citizenship, p. 29-52. • Derek Heater, A Brief History of Citizenship (NYU, 2004), p. 1-41 (skim), 55-64. • Cass Sunstein, Republic.com 2.0 (Princeton, 2007), p. xi-xii, 212-223. • Jonathan Laurence & Justin Vaisse, “From Muslims into French Citizens,” in Integrating Islam: Political

and Religious Challenges in Contemporary France (Brookings, 2006), p.135-191.

(5) Feb 16: Civil religion

Required reading: • Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863) and Second Inaugural Address (1865). • Robert Bellah, “Civil Religion in America,” Dædalus 96.1 (Winter 1967): 1-21. • Philip S. Gorski, Prophetic Republicanism: American Covenant: A History of Civil Religion from the

Puritans to the Present] (forthcoming 2.21.2017), pp. 1-31 (Preface + Introduction), 189-216 (Conclusion); Please also note Figure 1 on p. 56: Classical Liberalism vs. Classical Republicanism. I also strongly encourage you to read one or more of the other chapters, as they relate to your period/area of interest:

Recommended: • Joseph Blankholm, "American Civil Religion in the Age of Obama," interview with Philip Gorski, The

Immanent Frame, 6.28.2012. • Alan Wolfe, “Civil Religion Revisited: Quiet Faith in Middle-Class America,” in Obligations of Citizenship,

p. 32-72 • Russell E. Richey, ed., American Civil Religion (1974). • George Rable, "Lincoln's Civil Religion," History Now, Gilder-Lehman Inst. of American History.

(6) Feb 23: Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism

** We will be joined in part 2 of the class by Melissa Rogers (short bio here), who will also be giving a lecture that evening at 6pm (Higgins 300) entitled "Religious Freedom and the Common Good."

Required reading: • Packet on Steve Bannon and accusations of “white nationalism” • Peter Gomes, “Patriotism Is Not Enough,” Sermon at the Memorial Church, Harvard University, 6

October 2002. • Martha Nussbaum et al., For Love of Country: Debating the Limits of Patriotism, Joshua Cohen, ed.

(Beacon, 1996), p. vii-xiv (preface/intro), 1-37 (Nussbaum, Appiah, Barber), 66-71 (Gutmann), 78-84 (McConnell), 111-121 (Sen, Taylor), and 131-44 (Nussbaum). [~75 pp.]

• Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM, "Subject to the Governor of the Universe: The American Experience and Global Religious Liberty," First Things 3.4.2011 [~4pp]

• Frederick Douglass, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” (1852). • Robert W. McElroy, "What Is the Catholic Response to the Rise of Nationalism?" America 1.24.2017.

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Recommended:

• Jeremy Waldron, "Teaching Cosmopolitan Right," in Kevin McDonough and Walter Feinberg, eds., Education and Citizenship in Liberal-Democratic Societies: Teaching for Cosmopolitan Values and Collective Identities (Oxford, 2003), 23-45.

• Richard J. Ellis, To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance (Kansas, 2005), p. ix-xiv (preface) and 209-222 (conclusion).

• Maurizio Viroli, "Republican Patriotism," in C. McKinnon and I. Hampshire-Monk, The Demands of Citizenship (Continuum, 2000), 267-275.

• William Willimon, “Can Christians be Patriots?” in Michael Long and Tracy wegner Sadd, eds., God and Country? Diverse Perspectives on Christianity and Patriotism (Palgrave, 2007), p. 97-107.

• Alasdair MacIntyre, "Is Patriotism a Virtue?" The Lindley Lecture, Univ. of Kansas (1984). • Summaries of Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) and West Virginia State Board of Ed. v.

Barnette (1943) • Watch “Religious Freedom and the Pledge of Allegiance” online at Boston College Front Row.

*** Feb 23 "Religious Freedom and the Common Good"

A lecture by Melissa Rogers. Higgins 300, 6pm. Details here.

(7) Wednesday Mar 1, 7:00-9:30pm: The Benedict option

Required reading: • Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory(Notre Dame, 1981), selections (13pp). • Stanley Hauerwas, “A Christian Critique of Christian America,” in John Bekman and Michael Cartwright,

eds., The Hauerwas Reader, (Duke, 2001), p. 459-480. • Rod Dreher, "Benedict Option," The American Conservative, 12.12.2013; and "Benedict Option

FAQ," TAC 10.6.2015. [His book The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation will be published by Sentinel Press on 3.14.2017)

• Paul Griffiths, “Religious Allegiance and Political Sovereignty: An Irreconcilable Tension?” in John Carlson and Erik Owens, eds., The Sacred and the Sovereign: Religion and International Politics (Georgetown, 2003), p. 247-55.

Recommended: • Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (Abingdon, 1989). • Michael Sattler, “The Schleitheim Confession” (aka Schleitheim Articles), in Oliver O’Donovan and Joan

Lockwood O’Donovan, eds., From Irenaeus to Grotius: A Sourcebook in Christian Political Thought 100-1625 (Eerdmans, 1999), p. 631-37.

• Peter J. Leithart, “Witness unto Death: Christian Martyrdom Conquers the Pretensions of Worldly Power,” First Things January 2013

• Graham Walker, “Illusory Pluralism, Inexorable Establishment,” in Obligations of Citizenship, p. 111-126.

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(8) Thursday Mar 16, 11:00am - 1:30pm : Christian Realism Required reading: • Reinhold Niebuhr, selections from Love and Justice: The Shorter Writings of Reinhold

Niebuhr (Westminster/JKP 1992) • Robin Lovin, Christian Realism and the New Realities (Cambridge, 2008), 1-18.

Recommended: • Robin Lovin, Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism (Cambridge 1995) • Richard Harries and Stephen Platten, eds., Reinhold Niebuhr and Contemporary Politics (Oxford 2010) • Martin Luther, “On Temporal Authority” (1523).

** Mar 22 "The Intellectual Roots of Trumpism"

The inaugural Wolfe Lecture on Religion and Public Life by Alan Wolfe, Founding Director of the Boisi Center Fulton 511, 7pm. Details here.

(9) Mar 23: Augustinian Christian republicanism

Required reading: • Charles Mathewes, A Theology of Public Life (Cambridge, 2007), p. 1-28 (Introduction), 145-213 (“The

Liturgy of Citizenship”).

Recommended: • Charles Mathewes, The Republic of Grace: Augustinian Thoughts for Dark Times (Eerdmans 2010) • Augustine, The City of God, esp. book XIX

** Mar 26: Class dinner, Chez Owens (5-8pm)

(10) Mar 30: Augustinian civic liberalism

** Seminar paper proposals due **

Required reading: • Eric Gregory, Politics and the Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic Citizenship (Chicago

2008), introduction and chaps 1-3 (~195 pages). [I can't post the entire assignment, and it's not available online, so this is one you'll want to purchase or get from the course reserve.]

Recommended: • TBA

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(11) Apr 6: Civility and prophetic religion Required Reading: • Cathleen Kaveny, Prophesy without Contempt: Religious Discourse in the Public Square (Harvard, 2016) • Packet of theological/political responses to Ferguson 2014/2015 (from Ta Nahisi-Coates, Cornell West,

Michael Eric Dyson, Eddie Glaude, and others)

Recommended: • Robert Audi and Nicholas Wolterstorff, Religion in the Public Square: The Place of Religious Convictions

in Political Debate (Yale, 1997) • Martin Luther King, Jr., “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963) • Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence (1776) • Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” (1849) • David Chappell, A Stone of Hope: Prophetic Religion and the Death of Jim Crow (UNC, 2004), p. 1-8,

67-104, 179-90. • Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream” (1963). • Mohandas K. Gandhi, The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work and Ideas,

ed. Louis Fischer (Vintage, 2002). • Susan B. Anthony, Speech at her trial for voting (1873), in Witte/Alexander, eds., The Teachings of

Modern Christianity vol.2 (Columbia, 2006), p.248-9, 261-3.

*** Apr 7 Panel discussion of Cathleen Kaveny’s Prophecy without Contempt

Web info here. Features Cathleen Kaveny, Rowan Williams, Charles Taylor, and Jonathan Lear Friday, April 7, 2017; 2:00 pm; McMullen Museum of Art, 210 Commonwealth Avenue

(12) Apr 20: Black natural law Required reading: • Vincent Lloyd, Black Natural Law (Oxford 2016)

Recommended: • Eddie Glaude, Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul (Crown, 2016)

(13) Apr 27: Political Organizing as Faithful Citizenship

** Seminar paper outline due **

Required reading: • Luke Bretherton, Resurrecting Democracy (Cambridge UP, 2015), excerpts. • Jeffrey Stout, Blessed Are the Organized (2010), 1-xx.

Recommended: • Ernesto Cortes, “Prophetic Action and Imagination” [video], Prophetic Voices Lecture, Boston College,

3.26.2013. • Luke Bretherton, Christianity and Contemporary Politics (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)

TH 748601 syllabus (Spring 2015) Page 7 of 7

(14) May 4: Global Citizenship? Required reading: [TBA] • David Miller, "The Idea of Global Citizenship ," in Sigal Ben-Porath and Rogers Smith,

eds., Varieties of Sovereignty and Citizenship (Penn, 2013), 227-243. • David Hollenbach, "Migration as a Challenge for Theological Ethics ," Political Theology, 12:6

(2011): 807-812. • Hans Schattle, The Practices of Global Citizenship (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), intro and chap 2.

Recommended: • TBA

May 11: Seminar paper due by 6:00pm