RELS 145 Introduction to American Religion

This introductory course uses two themes- experience and authority- to orient and guide students through an historical survey of religion in the United States. We will ask how people have made appeals to religious experience to establish, reinforce, and challenge political and religious authority. In addition to dominant forms of Protestant Christianity, we will learn about the rise of new religions like Spiritualism and Mormonism, Catholic and Jewish immigration in the late nineteenth century, and the growth of religions like Buddhism and Islam in the twentieth. Throughout the course, we will pay special attention to race and ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, asking how religion has alternately served as a vehicle for liberation and venue of oppression, and how religious debates dovetailed with the pressing social issues of the day.