Fall 2010/Pasadena
CH801/579
Bradley
CH801/579: THE CHURCH IN MODERN SOCIETY. James Bradley.
DESCRIPTION: This is a CATS doctoral seminar open to a limited number of
qualified master's level students (CH579). In early modern Europe, Christian
thought and institutions dominated vast areas of human endeavor, including
science, philosophy, social and economic theory, law and politics. The
revolutions of the modern world have almost completely overturned this
relationship and thrown the church into a series of prolonged crises. This
seminar will survey the critical points of intersection between the church and
society since the Enlightenment, particularly in Britain and North America. We
will read selections from several of the most influential thinkers of the
Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Positivism, and we will study the most
important contemporary theories of secularization, including those of Weber,
Berger, Wilson, and Pannenberg.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will acquire a broader understanding of the church
in the context of modern culture that will enable them to further their own
research agendas. They should attain a deepened ability in the use of critical
historical methods that will assist in research and writing at the professional
level. Finally, students will hopefully sharpen their ability to interpret the
topics of the course in meaningful ways to the academy and the
church.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: This course is intended for students who plan a
vocation in teaching, research, and writing. The course will furnish students
with an understanding of the most formidable intellectual challenges facing the
church today, and hopefully, it will help lay a foundation that will enable the
Christian intellectual to offer a credible answer to these challenges.
COURSE FORMAT: The seminar will meet three hours a week for discussion.
REQUIRED READING:
- Bradley, James E., and Dale K. Van Kley, eds. Religion and
Politics in Enlightened Europe. Notre Dame, 2001. ISBN: 9780268040529.
$24.95.
- Cashdollar, Charles D. The Transformation of Theology, 1830-1890.
Princeton, 1989. Out of print.
- May, Henry F. The Enlightenment in America. Oxford, 1976. ISBN:
9780195023671. $44.95.
- Noll, Mark A. Between Faith and Criticism. Regent College, 2004.
ISBN: 9781573830980. $26.95.
- Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Christianity in a Secularized World.
Crossroad, 1989. ISBN: 9780824509361. $8.95.
- Chapman, Alister, John Coffey, and Brad S. Gregory. Seeing Things Their
Way: Intellectual History and the Return of Religion. Notre Dame, 2009.
ISBN: 9780268022983. $38.00.
- N.B. Cashdollar is out of print and May is expensive; copies will be
supplied to students.
ASSIGNMENTS: Rigorous participation in the seminar discussions and a major
research paper. Students will be able to choose from a wide variety of specific
topics for their papers, but the seminar is also designed to enhance the
student's overall competence in the broad field of modern church history.
PREREQUISITES: The seminar is intended primarily for PhD and ThM students
working in the area of modern church history and theology. The course is open
by permission of the professor to a limited number of MA and MDiv students who
are planning advanced work in the fields of history or theology. Such students
should have completed one or more survey courses in modern church history,
American church history, or modern theology.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective for MA and MDiv students; it is part of
the required curriculum for history students in the Center for Advanced
Theological Study.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (July 2010)