Religion plays a role in the most contentious social issues of our era: religious freedom, abortion, evolution, racism, and gay rights, among others. The course explores the historical roots of American religions and religious trends such as pluralism and fundamentalism. We pay particular attention to media representations of religious "others" and use case studies to explore the intersections of religion and gender, race, class, and ethnicity. The course uses historical documents, religious texts, films and other media, and also introduces students to basic research methods for religious studies.