In this course, we explore communities and practices that have been considered “unorthodox,” “irreligious,” “superstitious,” and “weird”—from Mormons and Scientologists to the Jonestown Peoples Temple and Satanists. This course does not argue that there is such a thing as “bad religion” but focuses instead on the ways in which critics and outsiders have located particular religious groups and practices beyond the margins of “real” or acceptable religion. As we track various constructions of “bad religion” in America from the 19th century to the present day, we will consider what certain fears and fantasies of religious “others” can reveal about historical developments and cultural concerns surrounding gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. In addition to secondary sources, students will read, analyze, and discuss primary sources, popular culture productions, and news media as influential sites of religious theorizing, construction, and contestation in American history.
- Teacher: Shelby King