DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the most important themes and movements in American church history from the Puritans to the present.

The study of the American church places the student's particular denomination in the context of the pluralistic cultural, scientific, and religious forces that continue to shape contemporary life, including the Catholic church, the ecumenical movement, and the new sects and cults. The modern missionary movement arose among the English speaking people of Britain and North America, and as a result, American movements as diverse as Fundamentalism and Neo-orthodoxy reached far afield and profoundly influenced Protestants in such distant lands as Korea and Indonesia. The study of one's own tradition and family of denominations will supply the knowledge necessary for leadership, and it will enable students to discern both the threats and the opportunities that face the Church today. The course strives to inculcate understanding and empathy for all Christian traditions at the same time that it fosters loyalty to one's own denomination.

The class will meet twice a week for two-hour sessions for lectures.

There will be two examinations over the textbooks, and a final examination covering the text and lectures, together accounting for 70% of the final grade. A five-page paper based upon one of the three documents and reading notes on the other two. These papers will account for 30% of the final grade.

None.

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

Yes.