Religion in America, from the Reformation to the Rapture

9 units (3-0-6) | first term

This course is an introduction to the study of American religion, with a focus on how different groups and communities have practiced their faith in different eras. Starting with an overview of Reformation-era battles over doctrine and ritual, the course then considers Native, African, and European roots of colonial American religious culture; the legal and political history of church and state after the Revolution; the place of women in major religious traditions; the emergence in the U.S. of immigrant communities of believers representing the world's major religions in the 19th and 20th centuries; and contemporary battles over religion in public. Not offered 2026-2027.