Divining America – Religion in American History
Trinity Methodist Church. ca. 1910
From private prayer to communal worship in churches, synagogues, and mosques, religion in all its forms is inexorably linked with the history of America. Since before Europeans’ interactions with Native Americans in the 17th century, to the explosion of religious diversity in recent years, religious beliefs and practices have shaped American culture, politics, and the ways in which Americans relate to one another.
Please join us for Divining America – Religion in American History. This lecture series will explore many of the major religious movements and watersheds in American history from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Scholars from around the Triangle will invite you to learn, to think, and to discuss religion from a historical perspective.
Lecture Series Schedule
History of Religion in Durham
Sunday, September 14, 2008
3:00 PM
Main library, 300 N. Roxboro
This panel discussion, moderated by historian and News & Observer columnist Jim Wise, will focus on how Durham’s religious institutions have changed over time and trends for the future. Panelists: R. Kelly Bryant, Charles Cooper, Rev. Joe Harvard, Len Rogoff and Yonat Shimron.
17th and 18th centuries
Deism and the Founding of America
Thursday, September 25, 2008
7:00 PM
Main library, 300 N. Roxboro
Deism, the concept that a supreme god created the physical universe but does not interfere with it, was a belief that became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries. Ben Franklin once described himself as a “thorough deist.” Brendan Pietsch, PhD candidate at Duke University, will discuss the rise and decline of Deism's popularity and its impact on American values.
Puritanism and Dissent in Early America
Thursday, October 02, 2008
7:00 PM
Southwest branch, 3605 Shannon Road
H. L. Mencken once described Puritanism as “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” Throughout its history, America has been described as having “puritan” attitudes towards everything from alcohol to sexual behavior. Curtis Freeman, Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School, will discuss what the Puritans of early America really believed, as well as the beliefs of the people that dissented from the precisionist demands of Puritanism.
Native American Religion in Early America
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
7:00 PM
North Regional, 221Milton Road
Native people maintained a sense of harmony and balance with plants, animals, and natural forces such as wind and rain. Clara Sue Kidwell, Director of the American Indian Center at UNC, will discuss Native American religions as cosmological systems that ordered Native life and how that order changed as a result of European contact.
19th century
Mormonism, Polygamy, and the Limits of Religious Freedom
Monday, October 13, 2008
7:00 PM
East Regional, 211 Lick Creek Lane
Mormon polygamy sparked fierce controversy in 19th-century America. John-Charles Duffy, William N. Reynolds Fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill, will discuss how that controversy helped define the legal limits of religious freedom in the U.S., and how it continues to resonate today.
African American Religion from Emancipation to Jim Crow
Thursday, October 23, 2008
7:00 PM
Stanford L. Warren, 1201 Fayetteville Street
African American religion in the latter part of the 19th century was characterized by rapid change. Matt Harper, McColl Fellow at UNC's Center for the Study of the American South, will discuss African-American churches and communities in North Carolina after emancipation.
"The Almighty has His own purposes": Religion in the American Civil War
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
7:00 PM
Stanford L. Warren, 1201 Fayetteville Street
In his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln used religious language and imagery to describe the bitter war between the Union and the Confederacy. Men and women on both sides, he explained, "read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other." Charles Irons, assistant professor of History at Elon University, will discuss religious Americans' competing visions of war and emancipation.
20th century
The Scopes Trial
Thursday, November 06, 2008
7:00 PM
North Regional, 221 Milton Road
The Scopes trial of 1925 (often called often called the "Scopes Monkey Trial”) seemed to pit traditional religious values against secular science, with evolution in classrooms at the heart of the maelstrom. Michael Lienesch, professor of political science at UNC-Chapel Hill, will discuss how the Scopes Trial became synonymous with a debate that continues today – the intersection of religion and science and how the two are handled in educational settings.
The Rise of Fundamentalism
Thursday, November 13, 2008
7:00 PM
East Regional, 211 Lick Creek Lane
“Fundamentalism” is a term that is frequently used, but rarely properly understood. Dr. Grant Wacker, Professor of Christian History at Duke University, will discuss the Fundamentalists of the 20th century and how Historic Fundamentalism, largely forged before World War I, helped to produce the massive evangelical, pentecostal, and charismatic revivals after World War II.
Religious Freedom and the Needs of Special Children: Kiryas Joel Goes to the Supreme Court
Sunday, November 16, 2008
3:00 PM
Main, 300 N. Roxboro
Where does religious freedom end and state sponsorship of religion begin? The US Supreme Court confronted this question in the Kiryas Joel court case, which involved a Jewish group known as the Satmar Hasidim.In 1994, the Court ruled on the constitutionality of New York State's law creating a separate school district which served only Hasidic childrenwho required special education. Jonathan Boyarin, Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Thought at UNC-CH, will discuss the Kiryas Joel court case and its implications for ideas of identity and rights.
Intersection of Religion and Politics in the 20th century
Thursday, November 20, 2008
7:00 PM
Main, 300 N. Roxboro
Religion has been front and center in the 2008 election, but the interaction of religion and politics is nothing new. Join us as Seth Dowland, lecturing fellow at Duke University, discusses how religion influenced politics – and vice versa – at various points throughout the 20th century.
For more information on Divining America or other humanities programs at the Durham County Library, call 919-560-0268.
Durham County Library would like to thank the National Humanities Center, OLLI, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Durham Library Foundation for their support of this series.
Last Update: September 4, 2008
