EGMT 1540: The Ethics of Proselytization

Is sharing one’s faith an act of love, a form of coercion, or something in between? This course examines proselytization in a broad sense, exploring not only religious evangelism but also secular practices of persuasion. We will consider Christian missionary movements alongside campus sorority and fraternity recruitment, multi-level marketing schemes, activist organizing, and digital “influencing.” Across these cases, we ask: When is persuasion ethically justified? When does it become manipulation? How do power, vulnerability, culture, and inequality shape the moral stakes of conversion—religious or otherwise? Students will analyze arguments for and against proselytization in diverse historical and cultural contexts, attend to how legal and political structures frame debates about religious freedom and harm, and reflect on their own ethical assumptions about conviction and respect.