Studying the relationship between church and state: practical limits of church, state, and society programs in higher education.

Over the course of the last half-century, a distinctive category of new degree-granting programs has emerged in American institutions of higher education. These programs, collectively referred to as programs of Church, State, and Society, are devoted to studying the relationship between state authority and religious practice, and the subsequent effects this relationship has on society. As this curriculum is relatively new to higher education, it is the purpose of this thesis to critically examine the fundamental nature of Church, State, and Society programs. The thesis will argue that programs of Church, State, and Society should be oriented by an epistemological philosophy of higher education--one that limits the scope of its practical activities yet nevertheless embraces the practical utility that results as a by-product of such epistemological activity.