The Areopagus

A History of Christianity in America Part II: From the American Revolution To the Civil War

Instructor:  Dr. Jefrey Breshears.History of Christianity in America

Time: Wednesdays, Aug. 29 – Nov. 14, 6:45 PM

Location:  Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Room 105

Texts:
• Mark Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Eerdmans, 1992).
• Detailed outline notes are provided.

Course Registration: $50 or $90 per couple.

Overview
This seminar is the second course in a 5-semester study of the major people, issues and events in American Christianity from colonial times to the present. In addition to being an in-depth survey of Christianity in America, this series also focuses on the ongoing controversies over the proper relationship between church and state as well as the challenges and opportunities of living in a society that is increasingly pluralistic, secularistic, and antagonistic toward Christian beliefs and values. Although this is the second seminar in a series, each course is a separate study, and all are welcome regardless of whether they’ve taken the first seminar or not.

Part II is an interactive study based on directed readings and focused discussions centered around the following topics:
• Christianity and the American Revolution.
• The philosophical foundations of the American Revolution.
• Was the American Revolution justifiable?
• The disestablishment of state religion following the Revolution.
• The early controversies over separation of church and state.
• Was America founded as a “Christian nation?”
• The development of America’s major denominations in the first half of the 1800s.
• The Second Great Awakening.
• The Restoration Movement.
• The origins of American Unitarianism, Universalism, Transcendentalism, and Spiritualism.
• Joseph Smith and Mormonism.
• Utopian communities in the 19th century.
• Slavery, the abolitionist movement, and African-American Christianity.
• Christian involvement in the social reform movements of the 19th century.
• Catholic immigration in the early 19th century.
• Christianity and the American Civil War.
• Etcetera…

Note on the Instructor:
Dr. Jefrey BreshearsDr. Jefrey Breshears is a historian, a former university professor, and the founder and president of The Areopagus, a Christian study center and education ministry in the Atlanta area. As a history professor, Dr. Breshears has taught specialized courses in Christian history, U. S. history, and cultural apologetics.