HIST 356
HISTORY OF AMERICAN RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

1. Catalog Entry

HIST 356. History of American Religious Thought. (A)
Three hours lecture (3).

Prerequisite: Three hours of history at 100 level.

Course offers a survey of important developments in American religious thought including Puritanism, Unitarianism, Transcendentalism, New Thought and Positive Thinking, the Social Gospel, Fundamentalism, and Neo-Orthodoxy.

2. Detailed Description of Content of the Course

The course follows a topical treatment within a chronological framework:

I. Native American Religion

II. The European Background of American Religious Experience

A. Calvinism
B. Puritanism

III. The First National Event in America--The First Great Awakening

IV. Challenges to Orthodoxy

A. The Enlightenment in America
B. Unitarianism
C. Transcendentalism

V. The Second Great Awakening

VI. Sectarians and Utopians

VII. New Thought and the Positive Thinkers

VIII. The Social Gospel

IX. Fundamentalism

X. Neo-Orthodoxy

XI. Recent Trends: Ecumenism, Fundamentalism, and the Electronic Church

3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

Although the course would generally be classified as lecture, significant portions of class time are devoted to questions designed to stimulate critical thinking skills and the examination of primary documents (such as Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Divinity School Address," and William James's lectures on "TheVarieties of Religious Experience") which introduce students to the basic raw materials of historical study. In addition, regularly scheduled class periods are reserved for discussions on assigned readings and monographs. Students prepare written critical analyses as preparation for thoughtful discussions.

4. Goals and Objectives of the Course

1. Students will be able to discuss the diversity, richness, and centrality of American religious thought and expression.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate through oral and written analyses how present religious developments flow from and are intimately connected to the past.
3. Students will develop historical consciousness by comparing and contrasting primary and contemporary sources.
4. Students will be able to think critically and demonstrate this skill through various modes of writing.

5. Assessment Measures

Student assessment may include in-class tests, written analyses of readings, comparisons of social life as revealed in selected fictional writings, term papers, class participation, and the final exam.

6. Other Course Information

Previously, History 354 and History 355 included the religious dimension of the American experience (under the title American Social and Religious History) in a two-semester sequence. In recent years, social history has burgeoned to such an extent that teaching it coupled with religious history dilutes both of these important subjects. Religious history is a vital part of social history, but deserves distinct and concentrated treatment. Therefore, on February 20, 1991, the Curriculum Committee approved a restructuring which retained the previous two-semester sequence History 354 and History 355 under the revised title, American Social History (see revised syllabi), and added History 356 as a one-semester course to focus on the religious component of the American experience.

7. Review and Approval

Date Action Reviewed
September 13, 2001 Charles McClellan