Table of Contents

Note: Each chapter concludes with Further Reading. 1. APPROACHES TO AMERICAN RELIGIOUS HISTORY. Essays. 1. Philip Schaff, Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America Vol. 1, "Indirect Influence of Religious Opinions upon Political Society." 2. Ann Braude, Women's History is American Religious History. 3. Roger Finke and Rodney Stark, Church Membership Has Increased Throughout American History, Especially in the Most Demanding Groups. 2. EUROPEAN-INDIAN ENCOUNTERS. Documents. 1. Bernal Diaz del Castillo Describes Cortes' Replacement of Human Sacrifice with the Cult of the Virgin Mary, c. 1519. 2. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, a Spanish Castaway, Becomes an Indian healer, 1542. 3. Joseph Jouvency, a Jesuit Priest, Discusses Death and Hell with Canadian Indians, 1610. 4. Roger Williams Explains Rhode Island Indians' Language and Religion, 1643. 5. Mary Jemison Describes the Five Feasts by Which the Seneca Marked the Changing Seasons, c.1750. 6. Tecaughretanego Explains Why the Great Spirit Sometimes Permits Men to Go Hungry Before Feeding Them, 1758. 7. John Heckwelder Describes the Delaware Indians' View of Bear Spirits, c.1750. 8. John Muir Witnesses the Conversion of Thlinkit Indians to Christianity, c.1876. Essays. 1. Daniel K. Richter, The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Civilization. 2. Joel W. Martin, Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees Struggle for a New World. 3. RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE BRITISH COLONIES: 1607-1775. Documents. 1. John Winthrop Outlines His Plan for a Godly Settlement, 1630. 2. William Bradford Sees God's Mercy and Judgment in New England's Changing Fortunes, 1654. 3. Cotton Mather Advises John Richards on Detecting Witches, 1692. 4. Jonathan Edwards on the beginnings of revival. 5. Nathan Cole on hearing Whitfield. 6. Benjamin Franklin Explains His Religious Views in a Letter, 1756. 7. Charles Woodmason, The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution, circa. 1770. Essays. 1. Perry Miller, The Puritans' Errand into the Wilderness. 2. Annette Laing, Heathens and Infidels: African Christianization. 3. Christine Heryman, Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt. 4 RELIGION AND REVOLUTION: 1775-1795. Documents. 1. Abraham Keteltas, sermon from 1777, "God Arising and Pleading His People's Cause." 2. Jonathan Boucher's Loyalist Sermon Denounces the Revolution, 1775. 3. Anthony Benezet, Quaker, Denounces War, 1776. 4. Isaac Backus, History of New England Baptists. 5. Lucy Wight Meets Shaker Leader Mother Ann Lee, (c. 1780), 1826. 6. Thomas Jefferson Establishes Religious Freedom in Virginia, 1786. 7. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, Federalist 51. Essays. 1. George Marsden, Religion and American. 2. Garry Wills, Deists. 3. Stephen Marini, How the Revolution Stimulated New Religious Movements. 5. RELIGION IN THE EARLY REPUBLIC: 1790-1850. Documents. 1. Peter Cartwright, Autobiography, 1856. 2. Charles Grandison Finney Stirs Up Religious Emotions at Revival Meetings, 1835. 3. Joseph Smith Explains How an Angel Guided Him to Found the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), 1842. 4. Ralph Waldo Emerson Describes the "Over-Soul," 1841. 5. Anonymous Ex-Slave Sees the Ghost of Her Dead Master c.1850. 6. Henry Bibb, a Slave, Uses Conjuring to Prevent Harm and Attract Women, 1849. 7. Samuel Ringgold Ward Escapes from Slavery and Becomes a Minister (1820), 1855. Essays. 1. Jon Butler, Awash in a Sea of Faith. 2. Albert J. Raboteau, The Slaves' Own Religion. 6. IMMIGRANTS AND REFORMERS. Documents. 1. Alexis de Tocqueville Sees Catholicism and Democracy as Compatible, 1835. 2. Maria Monk Shocks Protestant Readers with Allegations of Sex and Violence in a Nunnuery, 1836. 3. John Francis Maguire Recounts the Suffering of Irish Catholic Immigrants (1846), 1887. 4. Benajmin Roth Warns His Emigrant Son Solomon About Moral and Religious Dangers in America, 1854. 5. Harriet Beecher Stowe Advocates Enlightened Observance of the Sabbath, 1853. 6. Angelina Grimke Uses the Bible to Justify Abolishing Slavery, 1838. 7. Frederick Douglass Compares Southern Slaveowners' Religion with That of Jesus, 1845. 8. Thornton Stringfellow Argues That the Bible Is Pro-slavery, 1860. Essays. 1. Charles Morris, American Catholic: The Saints and Sinners Who Built America's Most Powerful Church. 2. Eugene D. Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Slaveholders and the Bible. 7. THE CIVIL WAR. Documents. 1. John Candler Gregg, union chaplain with the 127th Pennsylvania Volunteers. 2. William W. Bennett, Narrative of the Great Revival in the Southern Armies. 3. Thomas Wentworth Higginson Witnesses the Religious Life of Black Soldiers, 1864. 4. George Barton Remembers a Pious Irish-American Nun Nursing the Wounded at Shiloh, 1863. 5. Arthur Howard Noll, Doctor Quintard, Chaplain CSA. 6. Abraham Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address" and "Second Inaugural Address." 7. Isaac Lane, From Slave to Preacher Among the Freedmen. Essays. 1. James Moorehead, Civil War as Armageddon. 2. Daniel W. Stowell, Stonewall Jackson and the Providence of God." 3. Harry Stout, Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the American Civil War. 8. TEMPERANCE AND THE NEW IMMIGRATION. Documents. 1. Charles Sheldon, editorials in The Jesus Newspaper: The Christian Experiment of 1900 and its Lessons for Today. 2. Carry Nation, The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation. 3. Booth Tucker Describes the Salvation Army's Social and Gospel Work in Slums and Saloons, 1900. 4. Rosa, an Immigrant, Contrasts Her Italian Catholicism with the American Version, c. 1890. 5. Abraham Cahan Shows How American Business Life and Religious Pluralism Shattered a Russian Jewish Immigrant's Traditional Faith, 1916. 6. Anzia Yezierska Confronts an Orthodox Jewish Father over Changing Patterns of Religion and Women's Work, 1925. 7. Swami Vivekananda Describes His Life as a Hindu Celebrity in America, 1893. Essays. 1. Orsi, Madonna of 115th St. 2. Jonathan Sarna, American Judaism: A History 9. INTELLECTUAL CONTROVERSIES. Documents. 1. Charles Hodge Denounces Darwin's Theory of Evolution as Atheistic, 1874. 2. Lyman Abbott Argues That Christianity and Evolutionary Theory Are Compatible, 1892. 3. Harold Frederic's Fictional Methodist Preacher Discovers His Ignorance of Biblical History, 1896. 4. Washington Gladden Explains Higher Criticism, 1894. 5. William Jennings Bryan Defends Biblical Infallibility, 1924. 6. Elizabeth Cady Stanton Finds Feminist Messages in Genesis, 1895. 7. George Herron Depicts Jesus as a Revolutionary Socialist, 1899. 8. W. E. B. DuBois, Jesus Christ in Texas. Essays. 1. Jon Roberts, Darwin and the Divine in America: Protestant Intellectuals and Organic Evolution. 2. Stephen Prothero, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon. 10. ADAPTING TO MODERNITY AND COMPLEXITY. Documents. 1. Virginia Durr, Outside the Magic Circle. 2. Amy Semple McPherson, This is That: Personal Experiences, Sermons and Writings. 3. Clara Grillo Recalls Protestant-Catholic Tensions in Cleveland, c. 1920. 4. Jacob Sonderling, Immigrant Rabbi, Observes American Jewish life, c. 1930. 5. Sinclair Lewis Satirizes the Narrowness of Midwestern Baptists, 1927. 6. Mordecai Kaplan Defends Jews' Life in Two Civilizations, 1948. 7. Will Herberg Analyzes Religion and Assimilation, 1955. 8. Donald Thorman Assesses New Roles for Catholic Laity, 1962. Essays. 1. Jenna Weissman Joselit, Jewish Food and Jewish Identity. 2. Joel Carpenter, Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism. 3. Mark Massa, Catholics and American Culture. 11. RELIGION AND PROTEST MOVEMENTS. Documents. 1. Martin Luther King, Jr., Preaches on the Power of Love, 1963. 2. James Baldwin Becomes a Boy Preacher in Harlem (c. 1936), 1963. 3. Two Statements by Malcolm X: 1. God's Judgment of White America (Dec. 1963) and 2. Letter From Mecca (April 1964). 4. National Conference of Black Churchmen Demands Equal Power, 1966. 5. Christianity Today Criticizes Black Americans' Intimidation of White Churches, 1969. 6. Tom Cornell, Catholic Worker Pacifism. 7. Tina Bell joins an Anti-Abortion Demonstration, 1988. Essays. 1. David J. Garrow, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Leadership. 2. John T. McGreevy, Urban Catholics and the Civil Rights Movement. 12. RELIGION AND COUNTERCULTURE. Documents. 1. Jacob Needleman Discovers the Appeal of Eastern Religions, 1970. 2. Hal Lindsay Foresees the Millennial "Rapture," 1970. 3. Eric Norman, Gods and Devils from Outer Space. 4. Brad Steiger, The UFO Abductors. 5. J. Stillson Judah Explains Why Hippies Join the Hare Krishnas, 1974. 6. Starhawk Advocates Witchcraft, 1979. 7. Carol Christ is Initiated into Goddess Worship, 1987. Essays. 1. Patrick Allitt, Religion in America Since 1945: A History 2. J. Gordon Melton, Rise and Fall of the New Age Movement. 13. NEW IMMIGRANTS AND RELIGIOUS MULTICULTURALISM. Documents. 1. Karen McCarthy Brown, Mama Lola: A Voudou Priestess in Brooklyn. 2. Charles Munzy Attends Vietnamese Funerals in Oklahoma City, 1989. 3. Richard Rodriguez Recalls His Hispanic-Catholic Childhood, 1981. 4. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri Explains Muslims' Mixed Feelings About American Culture, 1997. 5. Richard Wormser Describes Pressures on Muslim Teenagers in American High Schools, 1994. 6. Prema Kurien Explains Hindus' Adjustments to American life, 1998. Essays. 1. Yvonne Haddad, The Dynamics of Islamic Identity in North America. 2. David A. Badillo, Latinos and the New Immigrant Church. 3. Rick Fields, Contrasting Immigrant Buddhists and "White Buddhists." 14. RELIGION, POLITICS, AND THE CONSTITUTION. Documents. 1. Billy Graham Urges a Troubled Nation to Turn Back to God, 1965. 2. C. Stanley Lowell Defends His Fear of Catholics in 1960. 3. Joseph M. Hopkins Deplores the Supreme Court's Decision Against School Prayers, 1963. 4. Evangelicals for Social Action Offer Guidance on Voting Biblically, 1980. 5. Langdon Gilkey Opposes Creation Science, 1985. 6. Christianity Today Describes Political Coalition-Building to Restore Religion in Schools, 1984. 7. Wilfred M. McClay Warns Against the Political Contamination of Religion, 1988. 8. Michael W. McConnell Fears for American Religious Freedom, 1990. Essays. 1. James Reichley, The Supreme Court and the First Amendment. 2. Nancy Ammerman, Fundamentalism and Politics. 15. RELIGION AT THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM: 1990-2010. Documents. 1. Gustav Niebuhr, Men Crowd Stadiums to Fulfill Their Souls. 2. Andrew Sullivan, Virtually Normal. 3. Editors of Christianity Today, Walking in Truth. 4. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson discussion on "700 Club" argue that the ACLU and abortionists must share blame for 9/11 attack. 5. Frank Silecchia, The Cross at Ground Zero. 6. Jeremiah Wright, Confusing God and Government. 7. Barack Obama, A More Perfect Union. Essays. 1. Jane I. Smith, Islam in America Post 9/11. 2. Peter Steinfels, A People Adrift. 3. Joanne Punzo Waghorne, The Hindu Gods in a Split-Level World: The Sri Siva-Vishnu Temple in Suburban Washington, DC.

About the Author

Patrick Allitt is Cahoon Family Professor of American History at Emory University, and an Americanist specializing in religious, intellectual, and environmental history. He graduated from Oxford, England in 1977 and earned his Ph.D. in American History in 1986 from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School (1985-1988) and has been at Emory since 1988. Author of six books, he is also the presenter of six lecture series with The Teaching Company (http: //www.teach12.com) on aspects of American and British history. His current research and writing project is a history of the intellectual and political opponents of environmentalism, from the 1960s to the early twenty-first century.