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Religion 166
Religion in America
Fall 1995
Dr. Terry L. Matthews
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Religion
Course Description:
This course is designed to give the student a feel for the rich diversity of religious experience in the United States. It also will serve as a a resource for helping the student appreciate the impact religion has had on our nation's history and culture, and how various faith traditions have been shaped, in turn, by their encounter with America. As we discover how the many varieties of religious expression in this country have served to shape our common heritage as a people, and how they have been transformed by our culture, perhaps we will find new insight into ourselves both as a people and as individuals.
Primary Text:
Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
Course Requirements:
There will be a mid-term and a final exam. The mid-term and final will each represent 25% of the course grade.
Each student will also be expected to prepare a research paper in one of five areas of concentration. They are: (1) regional differences in American religion (2) Fundamentalism (3) the role of women in American religion (4) the contributions of the Black church to American religious life, and (5) dissenting religious traditions. The paper will constitute 25% of the final grade. The paper will be of at least 15 pages in length, and each student will present the results of his or her research to the class prior to the end of the semester.
or
Students may elect to visit the worship services of seven churches of different denominational backgrounds, and write a two page report of their experience, along with background information on the denomination in question. These reports should be accompanied by a bullentin from the church in question.
In addition, students will also be evaluated on participation and discussion in the class room. Twenty-five percent of the final grade will be based on the student's ability to discuss and critique the assigned readings.
Projected Course Schedule:
"Old Traditions in New Contexts
"Some Consequences of the Revolution for America's Churches"
"The Religion of the Lost Cause"
"The Challenge of the Guilded Age"
"Catholicism in the Nineteenth Century"
"The Christocentric Liberal Tradition" (Part I)
"The Christocentric Liberal Tradition" (Part II)
"The Fundamentalist Controversy"
Neo-Orthodoxy Part II: The Ecumenical Awakening"
"A Black Theology of Liberation"
"The Religious Right: The Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition"
"The Christian Coalition" (Part II)
"The Community Church Movement"
"The Changing Nature of Denominational Life"
"The Future Direction of American Religious Life"
December 6: Review
December 8: Papers Due
Office Hours:
Office hours are by appointment. You may call me at my home (766-9642) or my office (725-7679) to make arrangements. Or you can send me e-mail at wfu.edu./~matthetl
Miscellaneous:
Karen and I have made a tradition of having my students into our home for a meal once or twice during the semester. Ideally, we would like to have you join us for dinner early in the semester to give everyone an opportunity to get acquainted, and then again at the end to facilitate our review session.
To help me get to know you better, I would like each student to write her faith autobiography. It should be from 2-4 pages in length, and should convey what (if any) place religion plays in your day to day life. This is not a graded exercise, but will simply allow me to be aware of the various confessional traditions represented in the class.
