Abstract
This course will examine the nature and function of religion in the present nation-state of Israel. We will first examine the role religion and secularism play in the development of Israel’s founding ideology, Zionism, which creates a notion of a “space” for religion in Israeli society. We will then introduce the varied forms of religion in Israel today, including forms of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. With that knowledge as a base, we will then consider various cases of conflict over religious exercise in today’s Israel, interrogating the ways modern Israeli discourse about religious belief, practice and cultural identity shapes religion as a force in society.