DESCRIPTION:

This course will provide an introduction to the major issues, figures and movements in American religious history and the development of American Christianity in the modern period. In part, emphasis will be on the nineteenth-century origins of various issues and conflicts in the twentieth century. Attention will be given to the transformations of various forms of European Christianity as they took root in American soil and interacted with Native and African traditions. Attention will be given to persistent themes such as individualism, the search for community, religion and reform, religious conservatism and innovation, and the religious nature of American culture.

The goal of this course is to come to a better understanding of the place of religion in American society, and to evaluate its impact in the past and role in the future. Issues of class, race, ethnicity and gender will also be addressed as we explore American religious experience in its diversity.

The course will meet daily for two weeks for four-hour class sessions, consisting primarily of lecture and discussion.

Gaustad, Edwin S. A Religious History of America. Rev. ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1990.

Hackett, David G. Religion and American Culture. New York: Routledge, 1995.

Lindley, Susan Hill. "You Have Stept Out of Your Place": A History of Women and Religion in America. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.

Moore, R. Laurence. Religious Outsiders and the Making of Americans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

Course reader.

The following books are highly recommended resources:

Edwin S. Gaustad, ed. A Documentary History of Religion in America to The Civil War. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.

Edwin S. Gaustad, ed. A Documentary History of Religion in America since 1865. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.

The requirements for the course include a book review (40%) and a final exam (40%), and participation in class discussions (20%). The book review is to be five-to-seven page critical review of a book related to any aspect in American religious history that interests you, to be determined in conjunction with the instructor. The take-home final exam will consist of two questions chosen by you from a list of six questions in relation to broad issues and themes covered in the course.

None.

Meets M. Div. core requirement in Church History "C" (CHC).

Take-home final.