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History 538
American Religious History
Spring 2014
Wednesday 4:00-6:40
PSFA - 308
June 1983 Rally in New York City (William Gedney, photographer)
“Everybody is bound to have a religion, but it does not much matter what it is.”
Frances Trollope on the United States (1862)
Your Professor:
Edward J. Blum, PhD
eblum@mail.sdsu.edu (I only answer email during office hours)
Office: Arts and Letters 525
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 12:30-2:00 pm.
Required Texts:
 Patrick Allitt, Major Problems in American Religious History (edition 2)
 Andrew Preston, Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith
 Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey, The Color of Christ
What is this course about?
American religious history examines the place of religious ideas, leaders, movements,
institutions, organizations, and ideologies in American history. We are particularly interested in
change over time in American history and the role of religion in those changes. In part, this
course examines what is traditionally considered “religious”: theology, priests, rituals, and
hymns. We will also analyze religion functioning in many other ways, from its presence in
material culture to its role in making political change, from religion as factor in immigration and
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mobility to the ways religion has structured how Americans think about their nation and its role
in the world. Finally, this course will consider how notions of what is “religious” have changed
over time and the factors making those changes.
This course begins before the founding of the United States. It proceeds through the formation of
the United States, the role of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the major shifts in America’s
religious cultures, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the rise of an industrial nation, the Cold
War and Civil Rights movement and beyond. We will pay particular attention to the role of
religion in animating American politics, society, economics, and systems of oppression and
resistance. We will focus on a variety of religious traditions, including Catholicism,
Protestantism, Islam, indigenous faiths, spiritualism, and Judaism.
Learning Outcomes:
 We will locate and analyze primary and secondary sources relating to American religious
history.
 We will write as professional historians do.
 We will place historical specifics into historical contexts.
 We will recognize the reciprocal relationship between American society and American
religions.
 We will recognize diversity of cultures and groups in shaping the American past.
Grade Breakdown:
Your grade will be determined in two main areas: interpretive essays based on the books and
primary document analysis essays.
 You will bring primary documents to class for discussion
 You will write two five-to-eight page papers that relate primary documents you locate to
the course reading. These documents can be located online, but do not have to be.
 Graduate students are required to write a ten page, 3 book comparative review of a topic
in United States religious history. They must obtain approval from Professor Blum for
their topic.
 You will receive further instructions and grading rubrics so that you know precisely
how each assignment will be graded.
Undergraduate Students
Participation: 25%
Primary Sources Located: 25%
Course Reading Essay #1: 25%
Course Reading Essay #2: 25%
Graduate Students
Participation: 20%
Primary Sources Located: 20%
Course Reading Essay #1: 20%
Course Reading Essay #2: 20%
Historiographical Essay: 20%
Some Classroom Rules:
 Since this is a level 500 course, I assume that you already know the rudiments of
historical writing, how to footnote, how to put together a bibliography, and how to use
primary evidence to make broader historical claims. If you do not know how to do these,
it is your responsibility to figure them out now.
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During lectures, save questions for times when Professor Blum asks if there are any
questions or note down your questions and email them to him. Professor Blum cares
deeply about your questions, but there is not enough time to discuss and address them all
in the class. Also, sometimes questions interrupt the flow of a lecture or the main point
and thus detract from the overall classroom experience.
Do not interrupt your colleagues during discussions or presentations.
Do not make noise during presentations – this includes talking, whispering, looking for
objects in your bag, yawning loudly, or making cell phone calls.
Do not ask Professor Blum to explain assignments or the syllabus until you have
thoroughly read the assignment or the syllabus. Professor Blum refuses to answer
questions that are clearly answered in the material he has prepared for the class.
Learn to figure things out for yourself. If you do not know the meaning of a word or a
phrase, look it up. If you need help at the library, go to the library. If you missed a class,
get notes from a colleague. If you need to improve your writing, contact the writing
center. Professor Blum is here to teach you American religious history and the study
thereof, not hold your hand and slow down the class for your particular issue.
If you are late to class, be quiet and deferential when you enter. Do not make a
production of it or draw any more attention to yourself.
When you have reading assigned, please bring that book or books to class. We will
discuss particular and specific elements from the books on the set days.
Professor Blum is a fun and happy guy; he’ll tell you if he’s upset with the class; he’ll tell
you if you’re doing well. Enjoy him because he will definitely enjoy your presence in the
class and what you uniquely offer to it! Keep a tally of how many times he says
“Hooray!” and you’ll find that he’s got a good heart inside somewhere.
For Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it
is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any
delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as
soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that I cannot
provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an accommodation letter
from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Plagiarism:
ACHTUNG! WARNING!! Monstrous, Evil, Lethal Criminal Acts
If you're sick of this institution, one of the best ways OUT of it is to cheat or plagiarize in my
class. Any work you claim as your own that comes from another person or lacks what I consider
adequate acknowledgment of their contribution is cheating. Copying another person's paper -copying off their test -- is cheating, too. Crib sheets are cheating, when used during an
examination. Anyone caught will RUE THE DAY. He or she will get a zero on the work, an F in
the course, and I will do all I can to have them expelled or suspended from this university. I've
done it before. I'll do it again.
For SDSU’s policies on cheating, see http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism/index.cfm
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~Schedule~
Week 1: (January 22)
Introductions
Week 2: (January 29)
Studying American Religious History
 Allitt, chapter 1
 Blum and Harvey, epilogue
 Preston, preface and introduction
Week 3: (February 5)
Beginnings
 Allitt, chapter 2
 Blum and Harvey, chapter 1
 Preston, part 1
Week 4: (February 12)
Revolutions
 Allitt, chapter 4
 Blum and Harvey, chapter 2
 Preston, part 2
Week 5: (February 19)
Republics
 Allitt, chapter 5
 Blum and Harvey, chapter 3
 Preston, part 3
Week 6: (February 26)
Catching Up
Week 7: (March 5)
Wars
 Allitt, chapter 7
 Blum and Harvey, chapters 4 and 5
 Preston, part 4
Week 8: (March 12)
Developments
 Allitt, chapter 8
 Blum and Harvey, chapter 6
 Preston, part 5
Course Reading Paper #1 Due
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Week 9: (March 19)
Catching Up
Week 10: (March 26)
Catching Up
SPRING BREAK
Week 11: (April 9)
Depressions and Deals
 Allitt, chapter 10
 Blum and Harvey, chapter 7
 Preston, part 6
Week 12: (April 16)
Cold Wars, Civil Rights, and Counter Cultures
 Allitt, chapter 11 or 12 (select one)
 Blum and Harvey, chapter 8 (and preface)
 Preston, part 7
Week 13: (April 23)
Culture Wars and Digital Ages
 Allitt, chapter 13
 Blum and Harvey, chapter 9
 Preston, part 8
Week 14: (April 30)
Conclusions
 Allitt, chapter 15
 Blum and Harvey, introduction
 Preston, epilogue
Week 15: (May 7)
Conclusions
Course Reading Paper #2 Due
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~Schedule~
Week 1: August 30 and September 1
Introductions
Handouts, exploring the nature of history and religion
Week 2: September 6 and 8
American Religions before the Civil War
Week 3: September 13 and 15
Race, Religion, and Nationalism
Blum, introduction
Week 4: September 20 and 22
Preachers, Missionaries, and Politicians
Blum, chapter 1-3
Week 5: September 27 and 29
Revivalism and Disasters
Blum, chapter 4-5
Week 6: October 4 and 6
Social Movements and Imperialism
Blum, chapter 6-end
Week 7: October 11 and 13
Modernism versus Fundamentalism
Sutton, prologue-chapter 3
Week 8: October 18 and 20
Gender and Danger
Sutton, chapter 4-end
Week 9: October 25 and 27
World War II
Course Reading Essay #1 Due (October 27 in class)
Primary Document #1 Due (October 27 in class)
Schultz, introduction-Part I
Week 10: November 1 and 3
Cold War
Schultz, Part II-end
Skype conversation with Schultz
Week 11: November 8 and 10
Religious Commodities
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Lofton, introduction-chapter 1
Skype conversation with Lofton
Week 12: November 15 and 17
Celebrities and Conversions
Lofton, chapters 2-4
Week 13: November 22 and 24
Marketing Faiths
Lofton, chapter 5
Week 14: November 29 and December 1
Politics and Race
Lofton, chapter 6-conclusion
Week 15: December 6 and 8:
Wrap Up
Course Reading Essay #2 Due (December 8 in class)
Primary Document #2 Due (December 8 in class)
Historiographical Essay Due (December 14)
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