The United States has long had a range of religious and spiritual traditions acknowledged and practiced in its borders. As these traditions increase in number and followers, there is a constant national renegotiation of what exactly is religion, and whether all forms of it, or all types of believers, can call the US home. Using case studies researched and compiled by the Pluralism Project over more than 15 years through its Case Study Initiative, each week this course will dive into a new instance of a religion driven dilemma to both develop a broad understanding of religion in the US, learn about some of the many traditions practiced in the nation, and engage in constructive conversation around the nation’s evolving religious landscape. In parallel, we will discuss different trends around (the declines and resurgences of) religious practices are taking place in the nation. This course cannot possibly cover the range of traditions and practices existing in the U.S. The ones selected have largely been chosen by the availability of case studies. There is space in the syllabus for you to incorporate other traditions to the class that are not covered and you would like to bring to our discussions. Success in this course is heavily dependent on an open mind, interest in the Case Study Method and strong class participation, including commentary, role play, and consistent attendance.

This syllabus was created for the Young Scholars in American Religion program.