The origins, growth, and current practices of religion in the American South. The interaction between religion and other aspects of Southern culture, such as racial and gender concerns, education, Darwinian science, temperance, and politics.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Additional readings and a research paper along with more extensive examinations to reflect the additional responsibilities.
Athena Title
Southern Religious History
Prerequisite
Junior or senior standing or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every even-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will critically analyze the historical development of religion in the American South and evaluate how it has both shaped and diverged from broader expressions of American religion.
Students will interpret and assess the cultural, political, and social impact of evangelicalism and fundamentalism in the South, considering both their historical roots and contemporary influence.
Students will compare and contrast white and African American religious expressions in the South, demonstrating awareness of issues of race, power, and cultural identity.
Students will evaluate the reciprocal relationship between Southern religion and national trends, recognizing how Southern traditions have influenced, and been influenced by, wider American society.
Students will demonstrate social awareness and empathy by engaging with the diversity of Southern religious life and reflecting on the broader implications of religion’s role in shaping communities, identities, and social movements.
Topical Outline
I. Introduction: The Course
II. Background of American Religions
III. The Colonial Phase, ca. 1607 -- ca. 1783
IV. The Rise and Growth of Evangelicalism in Colonial and National Phases, ca.
1720 -- ca. 1860
V. Evangelical Southern Society: Institutions, Plantation Missions, Interracial
Contacts, ca. 1800 -- ca. 1860
VI. Southern Black Religion in the National Phase, ca. 1800 -- ca. 1861
VII. The Slavery Issue and Southern Christians, ca. 1780 -- ca. 1861
VIII. Civil War and Reconstruction: Issues and Eras, ca. 1837 -- ca. 1880
IX. Selected Developments in Post-Civil War South, ca. 1865 -- ca. 1930
X. Rise of the Modern South, ca. 1930 - Present
XI. Conclusion
Institutional Competencies
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
