Sinners, Saints, and Heretics: Religion in Early America

This course considers the major people, events, and issues in the history of religion in North America, from pre-contact Native cosmologies to the tumultuous events of the Civil War. Attention will be given to "religion as lived" by ordinary people, as well as to the ways that religion shaped (or not) larger cultural issues such as immigration, public policy, social reform, warfare, democracy, slavery, and women's rights. Prior knowledge of religion in North America is not required; there are no prerequisites to this course, and it is open to all students. P