An examination of concepts of “religion” and “law” in Jewish and Christian thought, modern legal theory, and debates about religious freedom. The first part of the course focuses on the Old and New Testaments, the medieval and early modern developments of “Judaism” and “Christianity” and their contributions to the makings of modernity. The second part turns to changing definitions of religion and law in the developments of the modern nation state and modern legal theory, as well as contemporary national and international debates about religious freedom and forms of racial and other kinds of discrimination.
