DESCRIPTION: American Church History is a vibrant yet complex look at the personages, organizations, and movements that comprise the religious milieu of American history. Throughout the course, attention will be paid to denominational formation, theological innovations, religious movements, and social and political issues that arise out of the historic tensions in America's religious history. The role of slavery, immigration, politics, and social movements arising out of the experience of Christianity in America will be addressed, as well as alternate religious traditions' interactions with Christianity. Special attention will be given to persistent themes like individualism, the search for community, religion and reform, and religious conservatives.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of taking this course, students should (1) acquire a basic knowledge of their own denomination and its contribution to American history; (2) understand the unique social and cultural contexts of America that shape the history of churches and individual religious experience in America; (3) understand the theological debates and innovations that define the theological diversity of American church history; (4) understand the evangelical contribution to innovations in American church history; (5) increase their critical skills in reading and writing through the study of primary source materials and by research and writing a take-home final exam.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: The goal of this course is to come to a better understanding of the role religion plays historically in American society and of how to navigate the divisions that continue to shape religious life and discourse in America. Issues of class, race, ethnicity, and gender will also be addressed as we explore American religious experience in its diversity.

COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet daily for two weeks (except July 4) for four-hour class sessions, consisting primarily of lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED READING:

Brekus, Catherine, ed. Women and American Religion: Reimagining the Past. University of North Carolina Press, 2007.

Gaustad, Edwin, and Leigh Eric Schmidt. The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today. Harper San Francisco, 2002.

Griffith, R. Marie, ed. American Religions: A Documentary History. Oxford University Press, 2007.

Raboteau, Albert. Slave Religion: The Invisible Institution in the Antebellum South. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Noll, M. America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Prothero, Stephen. American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003.

Marsden, George. Fundamentalism and American Culture. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2006.

1. Participation in class discussions (10%).

2. A 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 (due August 17; 25%).

3. An in-class objective midterm examination (25%).

4. A take-home final exam (due August 31; 40%). The final 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, and it will require some extended research with a bibliography, footnotes, and annotations.