Universität Wien

010101 SE Using religion against liberal democracy On contemporary religious post-liberalism (2025W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 1 - Theologien und Religionswiss.
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
We 17.12. 18:30-20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Students who are absent from the first session without excuse will lose their place in the course.
Please ensure that you adhere to the standards of good academic practice and that you use academic working and writing techniques correctly.
Plagiarism and fraudulent partial performance will result in the course not being graded (an ‘X’ will be entered in the transcript).
The course instructor may invite students to a grade-relevant discussion about partial work performed.

  • Wednesday 08.10. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 22.10. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 29.10. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 05.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 12.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 19.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 26.11. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 03.12. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 10.12. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 07.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 14.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 21.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00
  • Wednesday 28.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6, Kolingasse 14-16, EG00

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Catholicism has been an important source for US politics for several years now. A group of conservative Catholics reject the liberal, democratic constitutional state and strive for a state that is integrally linked to the Catholic Church and thus abandons its religious and ideological neutrality. These circles are becoming increasingly powerful, including in US universities.
The seminar aims to familiarize participants with this movement and teach them how to analyze it. This will be achieved primarily through a joint reading of the book “All the Kingdoms of the World. On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism” (Kevin Vallier, 2023).
Targeted skills:
- Students understand the connection between religion (especially Catholicism) and post-liberal movements.
- They can read and understand challenging academic texts on social and political issues and identify the arguments presented.
- Students can independently write short and medium-length texts on the topic and issues covered in the seminar.
- Students can use AI tools (e.g., generative AI) to solve academic tasks and acquire scientific skills.

Assessment and permitted materials

a. Presentation or seminar paper,
b. Seminar portfolio, including documentation of tasks completed during the seminar. By registering for this course, you agree that the automated plagiarism detection software Turnitin will check all written work you submit in Moodle.
c. Attendance and participation in the seminar

Permitted tools: To achieve the seminar objectives and pass the performance assessments, you may use any tools, including AI tools, under certain conditions. I follow Christian Spannagel's “Rools for Tools” (version 2.3): https://github.com/dunkelmunkel/scientific-work/blob/main/rulesfortools/rulesfortools.pdf

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Minimum requirements:
- Submission of a seminar paper or seminar portfolio in accordance with standard academic standards, approx. 10-20 pages in length. (60/100 points possible)
- Presentation or special seminar contribution (10/100 points possible)
- Participation in the seminar, documenting your preparation for the seminar unit (reading, research, etc.) (30/100 points possible)
- Completion of at least 66% of the tasks set during the seminar with specified deadlines (e.g., elaboration of research questions, essays, research, literature summaries, forum discussions, etc.), documentation of the tasks in the seminar portfolio.
- Regular attendance (two absences without giving reasons are possible, a maximum of two additional absences are possible, but must be compensated for with an agreed additional assignment) To receive a positive assessment, you must obtain a total of more than 50 out of 100 points. Grading scale:
100-92= 1 (very good)
91-81= 2 (good)
80-67= 3 (satisfactory)
66-50=4 (sufficient)
below 50= 5 (unsatisfactory)

Examination topics

The course is assessed through continuous assessment. Performance is assessed as outlined above. No further examination is planned.

Reading list

Vallier, Kevin (2023): All the Kingdoms of the World. On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism. New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197611371.001.0001.

Association in the course directory

für 011 (15W) FTH 17 oder FTH 26, 198 418 BA UF RK 16, 199 518 MA UF RK 02 oder RK 05, 033 195 (17W) BRP 18krp, BRP 11 ktb oder 18ktb, BRP orp, MATS 4,5,6

Last modified: Th 02.10.2025 17:45