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Religion in Modern America, 1865-1990 This course traces the development, character, and im-pact of religion in modern America from the end of the Civil War to the immolation of David Koresh. The course does not stress "church his-tory," although religious institu-tions are important to it; rather, it em-phasizes interaction between America's many religions and emerging American modernity. Topics include the fate of "traditional" reli-gion in modern America; "alternate" American religious traditions; urbanization, in-dustrialism, and religion; sci-ence, technol-ogy, and secular-ism; evangel-icalism, mod-ernism, and fundamentalism; reli-gious bigotry; pluralism; religion and American foreign policy; and church and state. The course may be taken independently or in con-junction with its prede-cessor (AmSt 311-Hist 147-RelSt 293) which covers American religion from 1600 to 1865. Lectures: I will lecture on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to 10:20; the lecture period ends with an opportunity for questions and discussion, and questions are welcomed during the lecture itself. Discussion sections: Each student must sign up for a one discussion section and attend the section meeting each week; times and lo-ca-tions of the sections will be arranged during the first and second weeks of the course. Grading: The course grade is determined as follows: a midterm examination will constitute 25% of the course grade; two short papers (1000 words each, due Feb. 1 and April 5) will constitute 10% each of the course grade; a grade for discussion section participation will constitute 25% of the course grade; and the final exam-ination will constitute 30% of the course grade. The proportion of the grade given for section participation will be raised when discussion section absenteeism is unusually high. Students may take the course on the Credit/Fail option. Books: Arnold Eisen, The Chosen People in America: A Study in Jewish Religious Ideology Thomas J. Ferraro, ed., Catholic Lives, Contemporary America William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society Ronald Numbers, Prophetess of Health: Ellen G. White and the Origins of Seventh-day Adventist Health Reform Jill Watts, God, Harlem USA: The Father Divine Story Lecture, Discussion and Reading Schedule Week 1 How We Got Here: Religion in America, 1600-1860 Week 2 The Life of the Soul in the Gilded Age Section: Prophecy and Reform in Post-bellum America: Numbers, Prophetess of Health Week 3 Orthodoxies and Unorthodoxies in Late Nineteenth-century America Section: What is religion and what is a conversion? Reading: James, Varieties of Religious Experience, lectures 1-10 Week 4 The 80s: Religion, "Ruralization," and Urbanization Section: What was the spiritual challenge of the city? Reading: *May, Protestant Churches and Industrial America, Part III, pp. 91-162; *brief selections from James King, Adolphus Schauffler, and Washington Gladden Jan 31: Paper I due Week 5 The 80s and 90s: American Pluralism Renewed Section: What did religion mean to Du Bois? Reading: Watts, God Harlem USA; Montgomery, "The Preachers," in Butler/Stout Week 6 Solutions for Heathen Souls and Heathen Societies Section: Whose Jesus would do what? Reading: *Walter Rauschenbusch, excerpt from Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907); *Mary Baker Eddy, excerpts from "Precept and Practice" (1902) and "Questions and Answers" (1896).* Week 7 Religion and the American Indian Feb. 21 Midterm Exam Week 8 The 10s and 20s: A Loss of Faith? Section: How do we take a decade's "spiritual temperature"? Reading: Handy, "The American Religious Depression," and Carpenter, "Fundamentalist Institutions," in Butler/Stout Spring Recess, Mar.8-23 Week 9 The 30s: From Fundamentalism to the Holocaust Section: Assess the impact of "America" on traditional religion. Eisen, The Chosen People in America Week 10 The 30s & 40s: Transforming Modern American Religion Section: What was "orthodox" about neo-orthodoxy? Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society Week 11 The 50s: Therapeutic Theology, Civil Religion, and the problem
of Justice Section: Whose religion becomes "history"? Orsi, "Catholicism, Gender, and Modern Miracles," in Butler/Stout; Ferraro, Catholic Lives, Contemporary America, read four of the essays by Orsi, Allitt, Sullivan, and Weaver, and interviews with Paglia and Rodriguez April 3: Paper II due Week 12 The 60s & 70s: Religion and Politics Left and Right Section: Religion and Society: What's Chasing What? Reading: Spillers, "Martin Luther King"; Johnson, "Jesus the Liberator"; U.S. Catholic Bishops, "A Pastoral Message"; Falwell, "The Imperative of Moral Involvement" in Butler/Stout Week 13 The 80s and 90s: Born Again to What? Section: When is religion "unhealthy?" Lawrence *Wright, "Remembering Satan," New Yorker, May 17, May 24, 1993* Final Examination: Wednesday, May 3, 9-11 AM Return to RSiSS Syllabi |