It is often said that we live in a secular age. Among those who
believe this, some say that secularism began with the Protestant
Reformation while others point to the influence of the
Enlightenment. In this course we will use these debates about the
causes of secularization as a framework for analyzing our
assumptions about religion in the modern western world. The course
will focus primarily on Christianity as we look at modern trends
from both “insider” and “outsider” perspectives i.e., trends of
religious thought within Christian communities as they adjust to
change, and critical perspectives on religion that were taking shape
between the 16th and the 18th centuries. Thus, in the course of
surveying Christian history from the 16th century to the 20th
century, we shall try to understand what phenomena lead people to
describe our age as “secular” and what that description assumes
about being “religious”. Readings will include such primary sources
as Luther, Calvin, Galileo, Spinoza, Voltaire, Marx, Dostoevsky, and
M.L. King, Jr.
Requirements: Three exams (part essay), three short papers, and
class participation will provide basis for grade.