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Week 8 Questions: Political Identities: Religion, Gender, Ethnicity
Religion and Politics
Why might democracy and religion clash? How might religion help promote democratization? What is the relationship between secularization and democracy?
Do particular religions prevent democracy? Is there are relationship between democracy and Christianity? Between Non-Democracy and Islam? Do you think religion or religiosity has a bigger impact on politics?
In what ways does religion influence politics? Has the effect of religion on politics grown weaker or stronger in the last 50 years? Why or why not?
Gender, Ethnicity, and LGBTQ
What are the global trends of gay rights in the last ten years? What factors are the most important for explaining this trend? How might changes in the trajectories of those factors affect the future trends of gay rights?
How does democracy affect gay rights? What are the major causal pathways? What does Encarnación argue is the most effective way to promote gay rights abroad?
What is the difference between cross-cutting and coinciding boundaries? Why do we see quotas in some places and reservations in others? Does each remedy weaken or strengthen the salient boundaries?
Bonus Questions:
Toft et al
Week 8 Questions: Political Identities: Religion, Gender, Ethnicity
Religion and Politics
Why might democracy and religion clash? How might religion help promote democratization? What is the relationship between secularization and democracy?
Do particular religions prevent democracy? Is there are relationship between democracy and Christianity? Between Non-Democracy and Islam? Do you think religion or religiosity has a bigger impact on politics?
In what ways does religion influence politics? Has the effect of religion on politics grown weaker or stronger in the last 50 years? Why or why not?
Gender, Ethnicity, and LGBTQ
What are the global trends of gay rights in the last ten years? What factors are the most important for explaining this trend? How might changes in the trajectories of those factors affect the future trends of gay rights?
How does democracy affect gay rights? What are the major causal pathways? What does Encarnación argue is the most effective way to promote gay rights abroad?
What is the difference between cross-cutting and coinciding boundaries? Why do we see quotas in some places and reservations in others? Does each remedy weaken or strengthen the salient boundaries?
Bonus Questions:
Toft et al
Religion
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Week 8 Questions: Political Identities: Religion, Gender, Ethnicity
Religion and Politics
- Why might democracy and religion clash? How might religion help promote democratization? What is the relationship between secularization and democracy?
- Do particular religions prevent democracy? Is there are relationship between democracy and Christianity? Between Non-Democracy and Islam? Do you think religion or religiosity has a bigger impact on politics?
- In what ways does religion influence politics? Has the effect of religion on politics grown weaker or stronger in the last 50 years? Why or why not?
Gender, Ethnicity, and LGBTQ
- What are the global trends of gay rights in the last ten years? What factors are the most important for explaining this trend? How might changes in the trajectories of those factors affect the future trends of gay rights?
- How does democracy affect gay rights? What are the major causal pathways? What does Encarnación argue is the most effective way to promote gay rights abroad?
- What is the difference between cross-cutting and coinciding boundaries? Why do we see quotas in some places and reservations in others? Does each remedy weaken or strengthen the salient boundaries?
Bonus Questions:
- Toft et al. argue democratization/modernization has helped fuel religion’s resurgence but Encarnación argues democracy (and wealth) helps spread gay rights? Given the strong negative correlation between religion and gay rights, how can democratization and modernization lead to two contradictory things? (Section 37 and 41 Students)
- How does Htun’s argument about coinciding and cross-cutting apply to LGTBQ+ rights? What about religious boundaries? Would those rights be better represented though quotas or reserved seats? (Section 37 and 42 Students)
Answers should be based on:
Samuels, Comparative Politics, chp. 7, “Religion and Politics.”
* Toft et al., “The Twenty-First Century as God’s Century.”
* Htun, “Is Gender Like Ethnicity?”
* Encarnación, “Gay Rights: Why Democracy Matters.”
* Poushter and Kent, “The Global Divide on Homosexuality Persists.”
You can find those readings here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zT2hUxIokZaBEP_MCBL1kfvnoCW5MuM0?usp=sharing
