Summer 2005/Pasadena
Two-week Intensive: July 5-15
CH506
Butler
CH506: AMERICAN CHURCH HISTORY. Anthea D. Butler.
DESCRIPTION:
- American Religious 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.
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 how to navigate the
minefields 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 for four-hour class
sessions, consisting primarily of lecture and discussion.
REQUIRED READING:
- 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.
- Lindley, Susan Hill. "You Have Stept Out of Your Place": A History of
Women and Religion in America. Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.
- Raboteau, Albert. Slave Religion: The Invisible Institution in the
Antebellum South. Oxford University Press, 2004.
RECOMMENDED READING (highly recommended resources):
- Gaustad, Edwin and Mark A. Noll, eds. A Documentary History of
Religion in America. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Eerdmans, 2003.
- Noll, Mark. 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.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- The requirements for the course include a book review due July 15
(25%), midterm (25%), final exam due August 15 (40%), and participation in
class discussions (10%). 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 Mid
Term will be an in class objective examination, while 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. The final exam will
require some extended research with a bibliography, footnotes, and
annotations.
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Meets MDiv core requirement in Church History "c" (CHC ).
FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes; take-home.