Sexuality has long been a contested and contentious issue within most American religions, yet only recently have scholars begun to address it forthrightly. This course will explore the emerging literature on sexuality and religion as a way to understand how approaches to sex and sexuality within "sacred spaces" have shaped private behavior and public opinion. We will give particular attention to African American religious traditions, American evangelicalism, and Catholicism more broadly for the way they have been especially influential in framing (and inhibiting) sexual discourse and practices within the United States.