OWLS

Was the United States founded as a Christian nation? Or was it founded on the bedrock principle of church- state separation? How did the founders envision religion's place in American public life? And what do their ideas mean for us today? In this class, we will explore competing perspectives on these questions and try to gain some insight into why they are so hard to answer. We will analyze historical sources, including founding documents and landmark cases, alongside contemporary voices who mobilize the authority of the founders in remarkably different ways. Our aim will be not to resolve these thorny disputes but instead to understand why they continue to matter- and why they remain so contested. We'll explore this topic more with open class discussions.

October 13 and 20

Isaac Weiner: Returning OWLS favorite- Professor Weiner is a scholar of religious studies with research interests in pluralism, law, and culture. He is the co- director of the American Religious Sounds Project, which documents the diversity of Religious life, and is co-editor of Religion Law.