NES 6650

Global Religious Revival of the 1970's

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2017-2018.

In the 1960s, religiosity was said to be a mere byproduct of tradition, increasingly marginalized by modernization. Yet, in an unexpected turn, the 1970s saw religious revival swept across the globe as societies from the Middle East to Latin America to the United States turned to their divine texts. In the four decades since, religious movements across the world have gained increasingly prominent positions in society and government. How do these mass movements happen? What exactly is the relation between specific revivals, their holy texts and the societies in which they arise? How do they affect politics? Are contemporary religious revivals broadly similar or do they contain geographical or religious particularities? In this seminar, we will begin to examine these questions through the prism of social movement theory, covering the Islamic Revival in Egypt, Religious Zionism in Israel, the rise of Liberation Theology in Latin America and the "Moral Majority" in the United States.  Drawing on texts, audio recordings, and video, we will explore how and why men and women turned to religion since the 1970s and how the practices of individual believers have shaped the relationship between religion and politics globally. Courses in varied religious traditions would be helpful, but are not a requirement, to succeed in this seminar.

When Offered Spring.

Course Attribute (CU-ITL)

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