This course reviews introductory
definitions and issues of religion within society. The course will help students develop an
understanding of the place of religion in the modern world. It will examine, in a general manner, the
interrelationships among societal, cultural, religious, and belief systems. Topics include the role of religion and
belief in the theory and practice of governance; secularization debates; agents
of religious and sociocultural change; and religious sentiments in contemporary
society and their roles in the making of modern civil society. The course will also examine the
contradictions evident in the phenomenon of religious resurgence versus the
absence of religious values.