Compose tightly argued, well-supported essays of 3-4 paragraphs each responding to the following questions (25% each):
1. Compare and contrast the histories of Haitian and Dominican Catholicism. Why did Haiti and the Dominican Republic develop different styles of Catholic religiosity even as they shared (at times uneasily) the island of Hispaniola?
2. Analyze the tension (conflict) between Catholicism and Americanism (American culture) in American history. Has Catholicism ever fully reconciled with Americanism? If so, why and when did this occur? If not, why not? How has this tension shaped the historical and contemporary experience of American Catholics?
3.What do the experiences of Puerto Rican Catholics on the American mainland tell us about the experiences of particular ethnic groups within the American Catholic Church over the last sixty years or so? Were/are their experiences different than those of earlier Catholic immigrants to the U.S (for example, Irish, Italians, etc.)?
4. Explore the implications of the decline of participation of Catholics/Christians in the Global North (Europe most profoundly; the United States to a lesser extent) and the growth of Catholicism/Christianity in the Global South (Latin America & Africa) in recent decades.
