HIST 373C Religion and Ethnicity in America, 1890- 1990
The US is at the same time both one of the most secular and one of the most religious countries in the Western world. A central characteristic of American religion is its diversity: hundreds of different denominations and religious communities co-exist, especially since the late 19th century when the former Protestant nation saw a wave of immigration from mainly Catholic countries, i.e. Ireland, Italy, Poland, and the German Catholic lands (Rhineland and Bavaria). Thus, this class follows the complex relationship between religion and ethnicity from the late 19th century into the 1980s. Topics for discussion include religion and politics, religion and identity, religion and (sub)-urban life, religion and the public sphere. The class will mainly deal with Catholicism and Protestant denominations, but will include at times other religious denominations and communities such as Afro-Pentecostalism and Polish Jews. The class consists of in-class discussion of required reading and primary sources.