HDS Course Listing

Registrar's Office

HDS 2356

Secularization in Europe and the United States, c. 1780-2000

David Hempton

Description

It is commonly asserted that the United States is more religious and less secular than Europe. The purpose of this seminar is to test that claim by looking at the respective religious characteristics of these two large and diverse areas from the age of revolution in the late eighteenth century to the present. Among the topics to be considered in comparative religious perspective are industrialization and modernization, the rise of cities, the fate of established churches, the relationship between religion and popular culture, patterns of immigration, and trajectories of secularization. In the light of these comparisons, the course will address the complex issues at stake in the debates between those who make claims either for American or European exceptionalism.

Enrollment Limited: Limited to 15 (instructor's permission required)
Open to BTI Students: Yes
Jointly offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as History 84i

Course website

Scheduling

Half Course
Spring 2010
Tu., 1-3
Location to be announced.

Relationship to Program Requirements

Program Requirement	Area / Category / Art / Designation
MTS Area(s) of Focus	History of Christianity Religions of the Americas
MDiv Distribution Category/ies	Christianity
MDiv Art(s) of Ministry	none
ThM, pre-2007 MTS, and pre-2005 MDiv Area	Area 2
Language Course Designation(s)	n/a