Religion 232: “History of Modern European Christianity”
Ashland University
Spring, 2005
Contact Information
Instructor: Scott D. Seay, M.Div., Ph.D.
Office: Miller 31
Office Hours: TuTh, 9-11 a.m. and 3-5 p.m. (and by appointment)
Office Phone: (419) 289-5237
Home Phone: (419) 207-9693
E-mail: sseay@ashland.edu
This course investigates the historical development of European Christianity from the middle of the seventeenth-century to the present day. Attention will be given primarily to the social context within which modern European Christianity developed and secondarily to Christian thought during the period.
This course is the fourth in the Religion Department's four-course sequence covering the history of Christianity from its beginnings to the present. Thus, upon successful completion of the course, each student will be awarded three credit hours in the Department of Religion.
This course also meets the demands for the Historical Reasoning requirement for Tier II.
The overarching goal of this course is to teach students how to reason historically , that is, how to interpret the facts of history to make sense of changes in human thought and behavior over time.
With this in mind, however, several subsidiary objectives can be identified. Those objectives – along with the criteria for measuring them – include:
Objective |
Measure |
Master basic historical facts about the history of modern European Christianity
|
Reading assigned secondary sources; quizzes; engagement with class lectures |
Learn to interpret primary source documents in their historical contexts
|
Reading assigned primary sources; class discussions; reflective essays; examinations
|
Understand the key historical developments in Christian faith and practice during the period
|
Class discussions; reflective essays; examinations |
Explain the relevance of modern Christian history for contemporary persons of faith
|
Reflective essays |
Students are encouraged to keep these objectives in mind when completing the requirements for the course.
• Read the assigned materials carefully and completely prior to coming to class;
• Arrive on time for class and remain for the entire class session;
• Inform the instructor ahead of time if missing class is absolutely necessary;
• Remain attentive during all classroom activities;
• Listen closely and respond respectfully to both the instructor and fellow-students; and,
• Submit all work for the course on time as required by the due dates;
• Asks relevant questions during lectures and contribute substantively to class discussions.
The instructor reserves the right to call on any student in class as a means of fostering his or her participation. The instructor will advise any student whose attendance or participation becomes problematic in any way. Students who miss more than five class sessions – for whatever reason – will not receive credit for the course.
• Reflective essays (30%): Students will write two reflective essays (4-5 pp. apiece) in connection with discussion groups, and each is worth 15% of the final grade. In these reflection papers, students will engage the interpretive question for the discussion period, making use of both primary and secondary source material. For more guidance on these reflection papers, see the handout “An Essay on Reflection Papers” available from the instructor. Students should be advised that reflection papers are due in class on the day following the discussion period and that late reflection papers will not be accepted. At least one of these reflection papers must be completed before Spring Break.
• Examinations (30%): Students will take three examinations on the dates listed on the course calendar below. Each examination is worth 10% of the final grade. The examinations will consist of two parts:
• Part One consists of brief quotations from primary source documents, and students will be asked to write essays that explain the historical context, the meaning, and the importance of the quotes for understanding the history of medieval and Reformation Christianity
• Part Two consists of longer essay questions that target interpretive questions concerning the history of medieval and Reformation Christianity.
Study guides will be provided well in advance of the examinations, and a review session is scheduled for the class meetings immediately prior to these examinations.
Students with certified learning disabilities and those with physical or emotional challenges are required to alert the instructor immediately to any special needs that they have. All efforts, consistent with the overall learning objectives of the course, will be made to accommodate the needs of these students.
The Honor Code of Ashland University applies to all aspects of every student's work in this course. Students are urged to familiarize themselves with the terms of the Honor Code and to abide by them at all times. In particular, students should familiarize themselves with the Honor Code's policies regarding plagiarism. If questions arise regarding this Honor Code, students are urged to speak with the instructor for explanations and clarifications.
The following books, in whole or in part, are required reading for this course:
Each of these textbooks and the Classpack are available for purchase in the Ashland University Bookstore and library copies of the textbooks have been placed on reserve for the duration of the semester. Any student who has difficulty accessing these resources should consult the instructor immediately.
January 10 Course Introduction
Early Modern Europe
January 12 [L] Introduction to Early Modern Europe
Read: Cragg, ch. 1
January 14 [L] The Origins and Development of Pietism
Read: Cragg, chs. 3 and 7
January 17 No Class – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 19 [D] The Aims of Pietism
Read: Spener, Pia Desideria (1675)
January 21 & 24 [L] Religion and Politics in England
Read: Cragg, chs. 4 and 5
*January 26 [D] The Reasonableness of Christianity
Read: Locke, Letter Concerning Toleration (1688)
January 28 No class – Professor Seay will be out of town
January 31 & [L] Roman Catholicism in Early Modern Europe
February 2 Read: Cragg, chs. 2, 13, and 14
February 4 & 7 [L] The Enlightenment and its Religious Import
Read: Cragg, chs. 11 and 15
*February 9 [D] Enlightenment Thinking on Religion
Read: Tindal, “Christianity as Old as Creation” (1730)
Hume, “On Miracles” (1748)
Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionary (1764-69)
Lessing, selections (1760s and 70s)
February 11 [L] The Methodist Movement and English Evangelicalism
Read: Cragg, chs. 9 and 10
February 14 [D] Christian Perfectionism
Read: Wesley, Sermon on Christian Perfection (1740)
February 16 [L] Christian Anti-Semitism in Early Modern Europe
*February 18 Review for Examination #1
February 21 Examination #1
Nineteenth-Century Europe
February 23 [L] Christianity, the Revolution, and Napoleon
Read: Vidler, ch. 1
February 25 [L] Theological Reconstruction on the Continent
Read: Vidler, ch. 2
February 28 [D] A Key Protestant Thinker
Read: Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to its
Cultured Despisers (1799)
March 2 [L] Christianity in England, 1790-1845
Read: Vidler, chs. 3 and 4
*March 4 [D] The Oxford Movement
Read: Keble, “Our National Apostasy” (1833)
Pusey, “Scriptural Views on Holy Baptism”
(1835)
Newman, “The Theory of Development in
Religious Doctrine (1843)
March 7-11 No Class – Spring Break
March 14 & 16 [L] Roman Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Europe
Read: Vidler, chs. 6 and 13
March 18 [D] Roman Catholic Conservatism
Read: Pius IX, “The Syllabus of Errors” (1864)
Canons and Decrees of Vatican I (1869-70)
March 21 & 23 [L] The Development of Protestant Liberalism
Read: Vidler, chs. 9, 10, and 11
March 25-28 No Class – Easter Break
*March 30 Review for Examination #2
April 1 Examination #2
Twentieth-Century Europe
April 4 [L] Catholic Modernism
Read: Vidler, ch. 16
April 6 & 8 [L] War, Depression, and the Church
Read: Vidler, ch. 19
*April 11 [D] The Theology of Crisis
Read: Barth, Selections from Church Dogmatics (1932-
1967)
April 13 [L] The Missionary and Ecumenical Movements
Read: Vidler, chs. 22 and 23
April 15 & 18 [L] Christianity, Hitler, and the Holocaust
Read: Flannery, “The Final Soultion” (handout)
April 20 [D] Christian Protest Against National Socialism
Read: Barth, “The Barmen Declaration” (1934)
“Protest of the Provincial Leadership” (1936)
Pius XI, Mit Brennender Sorge (1937)
April 22 [L] “Updating” Roman Catholicism
Read: Canons and Decrees of Vatican II (1962-1965)
April 25 [L] Theological Currents of the Late Twentieth Century
April 27 [L] The Future of European Protestantism
*April 29 Review for Examination #3
TBA Examination #3