THEO672

Examines the relationship between the religious/theological and the political with the goal of exploring a comparative political theology of democracy. The focus of comparison will be on the formation of democratic subjects–i.e., the citizens of liberal democracies–as either resonating with or radically divergent from the formation of Christian subjects (saints) on the one hand and that of Confucian subjects (sages) on the other. The ultimate aim is to answer the question: How might the respective notions of the saint and the sage, when politically inflected, enable us to envision forms of democracy different from and even better than the prevailing liberal one? Students may read some of the classic works of political philosophy, contemporary Christian political theologies, and Confucian political philosophies. Advanced level theology elective.

Level: GD (I), GM (I), PD (I), PM (I), TM (I), TP (I),