Julia M. Speller Course Syllabus
Prepared for the Center for the Study of Religion and American
Culture by:
Julia M. Speller
Chicago Theological Seminary
The Center is pleased to share with you the syllabi for
introductory courses in American religion that were developed
in seminars led by Dr. Grant Wacker of Duke University Divinity
School. In all of the seminar discussions, it was apparent
that context, or the particular teaching setting, was an
altogether critical factor in envisioning how students should
be introduced to a field of study. The justification of
approach, included with each syllabus, is thus germane to
how you use the syllabus.
For the personal use of teachers. Not
for sale or redistribution.
© Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture,
1998
I. Syllabus Justification
The institutional setting in which this course is offered,
(Chicago Theological Seminary), is one that welcomes a course
such as this. The basic content of this course invites a
liberal and perhaps (from some perspectives) a controversial
look at American religion within our democratic system.
A course of this nature presents no conflict with the traditions
of the institution. As a matter of fact, key bits of the
story of the origins of the United Church of Christ (its
Puritan heritage) play a key part in understanding the growth
and evolution of American civil religion.
This course seeks to balance the received wisdom of earlier
scholars and the new direction of the more contemporary
in the field by using the works of Sydney E. Mead, Robert
N. Bellah and Robert Wuthnow as the core texts. While Mead's
book, The Lively Experiment, is not technically a book on
civil religion, he charts a very important historical and
theological map as he examines the growth of Christianity
and democracy in America and identifies the tensions that
were created in the process. It is within this context that
Bellah's book, The Broken Covenant, explores and expounds
on the phenomenon called civil religion. He presents probing
questions and reveals provocative issues that invite important
discussions about the impact of religion in American society
and the contradictions and ambiguities that it has created
for American life and religion. Wuthnow's book, Christianity
and Civil Society, touches upon the socio-political issues,
problems and challenges that are now deeply embedded in
the fabric of American society because of the presence and
persistent growth of civil religion over the centuries.
A thorough examination of civil religion in America must
include these or similar voices and is critical to an understanding
of religion in America.
This course also includes historical voices in its discussions
that intentionally focus on key time periods and issues
that have shaped who we are as a nation. These voices reflect
our diverse perspective of religious expression and practice
through the works of Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln,
Lucretia Mott, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells-Barnett
and Martin Luther King, Jr. Franklin, for example, provides
a special view of America as a founding father and a Deist
while Abraham Lincoln gives another venue through his experiences
as the president who was most involved in the Civil War
and who was also shaped by his Baptist frontier background.
Lucretia Mott was not only an activist for slave and women's
rights but she was also a Quaker, representing a major dissenting
voice of religion during a formative time of our nation.
Frederick Douglass as a slave-turned-free man provides one
of several different voices within the African American
religious experience. Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a free black
woman who bore many of the same burdens as those in slavery
and, while not admittedly a churchwoman, who also challenges
justice in America to be truly justice. King's voice, as
a churchman, activist and crusader of rights for all heralds
a strong and constant cry for civil society to be civil.
This course, through the other selected readings, includes
the Native American and Jewish experiences in the discussion.
The selection of historical figures attempted to balance
gender and race although, admittedly, the Asian and Hispanic/Latino(a)
voices were not included -- it's really hard to be all inclusive
all the time!
An interdisciplinary approach is essential in the study
of church history in general and in this course more specifically.
Mead, for example, presents the basic theological and historical
arguments, Bellah adds to that mix the sociological and
philosophical perspectives and Wuthnow's discussion, from
a political/social science standpoint, rounds out the disciplines.
A uni-disciplinary approach to this course on civil religion
would be absolutely ineffective because the relationship
of religion and social engagement in America is so diverse.
These experiences created, in reality, a nation with a multiple
personality -- in spite of the unified melting pot vision
of the founding fathers -- that in turn requires a variety
of measuring devises to interpret it, hence a multi-discipline
approach is of great value in this course.
Finally, the use of media is an important part of learning
in this course. A video of the Presidential Inauguration
allows the students to see civil religion in action. Additionally,
using segments of the video, "The Scarlet Letter,"
uses drama to draw the students into aspects of the Puritan
experience inaccessible through the lecture and readings
alone. Additionally, using contemporary newspaper and magazine
articles, as the focus of discussion, pushes the students
to critically analyze the content of the course with today's
life and to identify and understand further the presence
and impact of civil religion on their own lives and ministries.
II. Introductory Course Syllabus
Chicago Theological Seminary
Julia M. Speller, Instructor
Spring Quarter, 1997
Office: 411, Phone: (773)752-5757 ext. 263
W 2:00-5:00 p.m.
E-mail: jspeller@chgosem.edu
AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course will examine the origins, structures and parameters
of American Civil Religion and discuss its presence in and
influence on American society and American religion. This
study will focus on the speeches, addresses, sermons and
essays of Benjamin Franklin, Lucretia Mott, Abraham Lincoln,
Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Frederick
Douglass as they each responded to the issues of authority,
freedom, justice and social transformation, and in so doing,
reveals important aspects of this phenomenon on the issues
of their time.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The aim of this course is to help students:
- Identify the presence, form and function of civil religion
in American society,
- Explore its historical development and impact on the
realities of race, class, gender, pluralism and church/state
relationships in American society,
- Discuss the implications of American civil religion
on the structures and politics in American secular society
as well as the practices and expressions of American religious
society.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- Regular attendance is required. Each student is expected
to do all assigned readings and be prepared to participate
in all class discussions. (20% of grade)
- On April 30th, a take-home mid-term exam will be distributed
that will be due the following day, May 1st at 5:00 p.m.
It will consist of three questions to be answered in essay
form allowing 2-2 ½ pages for each answer. These
questions will revolve around the basic origin, structure
and meaning of American civil religion. ( 20% of grade)
- Between May 28th and June 4th, each student will lead
a 20-25 minute discussion based on a newspaper or magazine
article that illustrates the presence and/or influence
of American civil religion in today's society. Each discussion
leader should comment on how their article relates to
one of the categories of church/state, gender, race, class
and/or pluralism as well as its response to the issues
of authority, freedom, justice and/or social transformation.
She/he should also explore how the historical figures
we have studied might have responded to these news events
from their own contextual perspective. (20% of grade)
- A 10-12 page, typed double spaced final paper is due
on June 6th that compares and contrasts any two historical
figures that we read or discussed using the following
questions:
a. Where does authority lie for them? Church, state,
God, people, all none or other?
b. How do they define and experience freedom?
c. How do they understand and discuss justice as it
relates to class, gender and race?
d. Describe their notion of a transformed society and
its implications on the state of religion in America.
e. What is their historical context (family, education,
accomplishments, etc.) and how does it influence their
views on the above questions? (40% of grade)
Be sure to make reference to other reading from the class
as appropriate.
REQUIRED TEXTS (Available at the Seminary Coop Bookstore)
- Bellah, Robert N., The Broken Covenant: American Civil
Religion in Time of Trial, University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, 1992.
- Wuthnow, Robert, Christianity and Civil Society: The
Contemporary Debate, Trinity Press International, Valley
Forge, 1996.
(Books on reserve at the CTS library)
- Douglass, Frederick, Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass: An American Slave, A Signet Book, New American
Library, 1968.
- Goodman, Nathan G. ed., A Benjamin Franklin Reader,
Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1945.
- Greene, Dana, ed., Lucretia Mott: Her Complete Speeches
and Sermons, Study in Woman in Religion, Edwin Mellen
Press, New York, 1980.
- Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Winter
1996, volume LXIV, No. 4.
- Mead, Sydney E., The Lively Experiment: The Shaping
of Christianity in America , Harper & Row Publishers,
New York, 1976.
- Sherrill, Rowland A. ed., Religion and the Life of the
Nation: American Recoveries, University of Illinois Press,
Urbana, 1990.
- Washington, James M. ed., A Testament of Hope: The Essential
Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., Harper
SanFrancisco, 1986.
- Wells-Barnett, Ida B., Wells-Barnett: On Lynchings,
The American Negro -- His History and Literature (Series),
Arno Press, New York, 1969.
- Williams, T. Harry, ed., Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches,
Messages, and Letters , Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,
New York, 1957.
COURSE SCHEDULE
April 2nd INTRODUCTIONS AND OVERVIEW
What is American Civil Religion?
Video segment of the 1997 Presidential Inauguration; discussion
April 9th THE MAKING OF AMERICANS -- NATIONAL MYTHS AND
POLITICS
Read:
Mead , "The American People: Their Space, Time and
Religion," pp. 1-15
Bellah, "America's Myth of Origin," pp. 1-35
Goodman, "Bright Future in America for Industrious,
Hard Working People," Benjamin Franklin, pp. 345-353
Sherrill, "Tecumseh, Tenskwatawa, and the Complex
Relationship Between Religion and Political Power,"
pp. 219-234
April 16th THE IMPLICATIONS OF CHOSENNESS AND RELIGIOUS
LIBERTIES
Read:
Bellah, "America as a Chosen People," pp. 36-60
Mead, "From Coercion to Persuasion," pp. 16-37
Greene , "The Free Religious Association and the Advance
it Has
Made," Lucretia Mott pp. 359-368
View segment of video "The Scarlet Letter"
April 23rd THE DEMOCRATIC WAY
Read:
Bellah, "Salvation and Success in America," pp.
61-86
Mead, "Abraham Lincoln's 'Last Best Hope of Earth',"pp.
72-89
Marvin & Ingle, "Blood Sacrifice and the Nation:
Revisiting Civil Religion," pp. 767-780
Williams, "First Inaugural Address," Abraham
Lincoln, pp. 138-148
April 30th CHRISTIANITY AND MARGINALISM
Read:
Bellah, "Nativism and Cultural Pluralism in America,"
pp. 85-111
Wuthnow, "Multiculturalism and Religious Diversity,"
pp. 73-97
Douglass , "Life of Frederick Douglass," pp.
120-126
Sherrill, "Is Judaism Compatible with American Civil
Religion?" pp. 152-173
MID-TERM EXAM DUE MAY 1ST, 5:00 P.M.
May 7th FROM DENOMINATIONALISM TO AMERICANISM
Read:
Mead, "American Protestantism Since the Civil War,"
pp. 134-155
Wuthnow, "Is Civil Society in Jeopardy?" pp.
11-40
Wells-Barnett, "On Lynchings," pp. 8-20
May 14th BEING UN-AMERICAN
Read:
Bellah, "The American Taboo on Socialism," pp.
112-138
Washington, "A Time to Break the Silence," Martin
Luther King, Jr.,
pp. 231-244
May 21st NEW AMERICAN MYTHS?
Read:
Bellah , "The Birth of New American Myths," pp.
139-163
Wuthnow, "Can Christians Be Civil," pp. 41-71
May 28th DISCUSSIONS
June 6th DISCUSSIONS
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