American Religious History

American Religious History functions as a church history/Christian theology course. Though no semester course could possibly cover all or even most of the relevant issues, this course will introduce you to a variety of Christian expressions that have found life in America. We will begin with a study of Native American and European antecedents and proceed to an analysis of selected developments in American Christianity from the colonial period to the present. Two of the themes that will guide our study will be theoretical. The first is a theological question: what did the various groups and individuals believe? We will also ask a sociological question: in what ways did contact with the larger culture affect beliefs, practices, and self-identities? To what extent did religionists seek to shape their culture, and to what extent were they reflections of it? In addition to those theoretical questions, we will give also give attention to two enduring issues of debate: the relationship of men and women and the relationship of European Americans and African Americans within various Christian groups.

This syllabus was created for the Young Scholars in American Religion program.