American Religions A Documentary History

by Griffith, R. Marie

• ISBN13: 9780195170450
• ISBN10: 0195170458
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Religion has played a complex, vibrant, and multifaceted role in our nation's history. One of the most effective ways to help students explore its vitality is through primary sources. American Religions: A Documentary History is the only one-volume, up-to-date collection of primary sources available for American religious history courses. Featuring a creative dual structure--the readings are arranged both chronologically and thematically--this indispensable sourcebook can be used in both historically and topically organized courses. Balancing canonical works with those by newly discovered voices, American Religions: A Documentary History includes seventy-five classic and contemporary selections from the colonial period through the present day. It offers readings by a uniquely wide range of religiously, socially, and ethnically diverse writers: theological conservatives and liberals, northerners and southerners, women and men, and African Americans and Mexican Americans alongside Anglo-Americans. The selections are long enough to stimulate serious discussion yet concise enough for students to digest easily. The volume is organized into six sections that cover different chronological periods, each of which contains writings on five themes: theological reflections, ritual and performance, spiritual autobiography, interreligious conflict and negotiation, and more expansive conceptualizations of religion. Enhanced by brief biographies of the authors, a general introduction, and section introductions, the text also includes two sample syllabi--one oriented toward a historical approach and the other toward a thematic approach. Ideal for introductory courses in religion in America and American religious history--taught both in religious studies and history departments--American Religions: A Documentary History offers students a broad yet in-depth and engaging gateway into the subject.

Table of Contents

Preface for Instructors	p. x
Acknowledgments	p. xviii
Introduction	p. xx
Colonial Settlement to the 1730s	p. 1
Affirming Divine Providence: Explorers, Missionaries, and Colonizers Come to America
The Bull Sublimis Deus (1537)	p. 2
Of Plymouth Plantation (1620-47)	p. 3
Spirituall Milk for Boston Babes in Either England (1656)	p. 10
Piety and Practice in the Colonial Era
A Model of Christian Charity (1630)	p. 16
Sleeping at Sermons Is a Great and a Dangerous Evil (1682)	p. 19
Anxious Souls: Seeking Assurance in Puritan New England
To My Dear Children (1867) and To My Dear and Loving Husband (1678)	p. 23
Diary (1677-1727)	p. 27
Conflict and Violence, Gender and Ethnicity: Antinomianism and Indians
The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson (1637)	p. 37
A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682)	p. 63
Letter to the Indians (1681)	p. 73
Challenges to the Established Order: Baptists, Quakers, and Witch-Hunting
Letter to the Town of Providence on the Limits of Religious Liberty (1654-55)	p. 75
A Persuasive to Moderation to Church Dissenters, in Prudence and Conscience (1686)	p. 76
From Wonders of the Invisible World (1692)	p. 80
Revival, Revolution, and the Enlightenment, 1740-1800	p. 91
Debating Decorum and Religious Experience: Revivalism and the Great Awakening
From Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New-England (1743)	p. 92
From Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New-England (1743)	p. 102
Beyond New England: Southern Anglicanism, Methodist Perfection
I Cor. 14 v. 40 Let All Things Be Done Decently and in Order (1770)	p. 109
A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1777)	p. 115
Piety, Christian Love, and Resistance to Slavery
On Being Brought from Africa to America (1773), On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield (1770), and Thoughts on the Works of Providence (1773)	p. 121
From The Journal of John Woolman and On Silent Worship	p. 127
Bringing Outsiders In: More Encounters with Indians, Early American Jews
From Journal (1745)	p. 138
The Petition of the Philadelphia Synagogue to Council of Censors of Pennsylvania (1783)	p. 148
Enlightenment Views of Religious Tolerance and Liberty
A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom (1779)	p. 150
Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785)	p. 152
From An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects Which Have Appeared in the World from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day (1784)	p. 157
From New Republic to Divided Nation, 1800-65	p. 163
New Theologies Absorb Old Orthodoxies: Mormonism, Transcendentalism, Communitarianism
The Articles of Faith (1842) and Revelation (1835)	p. 164
Harvard Divinity School Address (1838)	p. 172
Diverse Modes of Religious Conversion
Letters (1805)	p. 183
From Memoirs (1876)	p. 189
Instructions to the Priest-Monk Theophan (1853)	p. 196
Slave Religion and African American Resistance
From The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee (1836)	p. 197
From Narrative of the Life of an American Slave (1845)	p. 213
Evangelicalism, Abolitionism, and Pro-Slavery Christianity
Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836)	p. 220
Essay on Slavery and Abolitionism (1837)	p. 235
From The Christian Doctrine of Slavery (1857)	p. 239
Europeans Attempt to Define Religion in America
From Democracy in America (1835)	p. 245
From America (1855)	p. 262
Science, Immigration, and Consumer Capitalism, 1865-1920	p. 283
Darwinism, the Social Gospel, and the Gospel of Wealth
Evolution (1884)	p. 284
From Acres of Diamonds (1890)	p. 301
From A Theology for the Social Gospel (1917)	p. 309
Reshaping Aged Creed: Reform Judaism, New Thought, Black Protest
Pittsburgh Platform (1885)	p. 321
From In Tune with the Infinite (1897)	p. 323
The Sorrow Songs (1903), Credo (1904), and A Litany of Atlanta (1906)	p. 328
Narratives of Americanization and Resistance
From Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux (1932)	p. 341
The Promised Land (1912)	p. 352
Conflicts of Immigration and Immigrants
From Our Country (1886)	p. 365
Meeting with Archbishop John Ireland (1889)	p. 382
The Heathen Invasion of America (1912)	p. 384
Turning Outward: The Early Comparative Study of Religion
The Ten Religions and Christianity (1891)	p. 389
Hinduism as a Religion and Farewell (1893)	p. 402
From The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)	p. 411
From Fundamentalism to Civil Rights, 1920-65	p. 417
Fundamentalism, Liberalism, and Neo-orthodoxy
Shall the Fundamentalists Win? (1922)	p. 418
From The Irony of American History (1952)	p. 424
Jewish Observance and Catholic Sacramentalism
From God in Search of Man (1955)	p. 434
From New Seeds of Contemplation (1961)	p. 447
Alienation, Dissidence, and Rebellion Against Traditional Authorities
From The Long Loneliness (1952)	p. 462
From Dharma Bums (1958)	p. 486
Black Encounters with World Religions and the Struggle Against Racism
What We May Learn from India (1936) and Howard and Sue Bailey Thurman Meet with Mahatma Gandhi (1936)	p. 492
Letter from Birmingham City Jail (1963)	p. 502
Letters from Abroad (1964)	p. 514
The "American Way of Life" and Its Critics
From Protestant-Catholic-Jew (1955)	p. 517
Multiplicity, Pluralism, and Conflict after 1965	p. 535
The 1960s and Beyond: Theological Responses to Social and Political Crises
From Beyond God the Father (1973)	p. 536
Christian Theological Mediocrity (1984)	p. 547
Gay Friendship: A Thought Experiment in Catholic Moral Theology (1998)	p. 550
Ritual Practice, and Spiritual Poetry in a Pluralistic Society
The Ways We Worship (1998)	p. 561
From Seeking the Heart of Wisdom (1987)	p. 571
Eagle Poem (1990)	p. 584
Spring song (1987), the light that came to lucille clifton (1980), and testament (1980)	p. 585
Religious Outings: Multiple Spiritual Personalities in a Post-Sixties America
From Stranger at the Gate (1994)	p. 587
Religion and Conflict after 9/11
From The Name (2002)	p. 602
Letter to Franklin Graham from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (2002)	p. 605
Danger and Grace-Sept. 11 and America's Religious Moment (2002)	p. 606
Privatization, Secularization, and Religious Flourishing: The Enduring Challenges of Religious Expression in America
From Habits of the Heart (1985)	p. 609
Religious Expression in Public Schools (1995)	p. 624
From Democracy and Tradition (2004)	p. 627
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