RELI/AFAM 4202 and RELI 6202: 

SOUTHERN RELIGIOUS HISTORY

 

Professor:  Dr. Sandy Dwayne Martin

Department of Religion

Rooms 213, Peabody Hall - 542-5356 – martin@uga.edu

Office Hours: Monday, 10-12; Wednesday, 1-3

Fall 2006

 

I.   Course Description

     

            This course examines the development of religion in the American South from the Colonial Period to the Present, placing particular emphasis upon those aspects that render the South relatively distinct from the rest of the nation.   Specific objectives include:

 

      a)  examining the manner in which Southern religion differs from and compares with other expressions of American religion;

      b)  investigating the nature and impact that evangelicalism has had upon Southern religion and culture;

      c)  investigating the relationship between religion and other aspects of culture and politics in the South;

      d)  understanding the influence and impact that Southern religion has had upon the rest of the nation;

      e)  examining the relationship between, and comparing,  white and African American  expressions of religion in the South;

      f)  gaining an appreciation for the diversity of Southern religious life;

      g)  examining the rise of fundamentalism in the South;

      h)  discovering the nature and importance of an academic approach to the study of religion.  

     

II.  Required Texts/Readings

 

       Samuel S. Hill, Encyclopedia of Religion in the South, Second Edition

       Donald Mathews, Religion in the Old South

       Albert Raboteau, Slave Religion

 

III.  Course Requirements, Grading Formula, and Attendance Policy

 

       A.  Written Work

 

I.  Pre-final examinations/ Grad PaperÉ..............................................  66 2/3% or 75%

 

RELI/AFAM 4202 will have 2-3 pre-final exams;  RELI 6202 will have 2 exams

  and a paper, which will carry equal weight to the exams.

 

II.  Final Examination  ........................................................................... 33 1/3% or 25%

       The final exam is cumulative, that is, covering the entire course.

 

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS ............................................................100%

 

NOTE:  Good class participation and attendance may augment semester averages in borderline cases.

 

 

 Projected and/or Tentative Exam/Paper Schedule:

 

       Exam #1 -----------Tuesday,  September 19, 2006

       Exam #2 ----------- Tuesday, October 17, 2006

       Paper (6202)...... Tuesday, November 14, 2006

       Exam #3 (?) ------- Thursday, November 16, 2006

       Final Examination:  Thursday, December 14, 2006 , 8 a.m. -- 11 a.m.

 

 

      B.  Discussion Sessions

 

      While this is primarily a lecture course, it is the intention of the instructor to have one class discussion session every 3 to 4 class periods.  It is important that students keep abreast of all readings so that they might gain the maximum benefit from the discussion sessions as well as the course in general.

 

 

       C.  Attendance Policy and Grades; A Summary

 

       1) Attendance is required and classroom participation is strongly encouraged.

       2)  No leaving before class period is officially dismissed.

       3)  Class roll will be taken during the first 5 minutes of scheduled class

            time for each class period.  Latecomers will be marked ÒlateÓ;  three lates equal one  absence.  Students arriving 10-15

             minutes late will be marked extra late;  two extra lates equal one absence.  If the student is not present during the first

            15 minutes of each class session , that student will be marked absent for that class period and is asked NOT to enter the

            class during that period.  Unexcused absences beyond four class periods will result in two (2) percentage points

            being deducted for each class period missed without excuse.

       4)  An excused absence is one that is unavoidable for emergency or pressing reasons.

       5)  Attendance and participation in the discussion sessions will be taken into consideration, especially when final averages are

            ÒborderlineÓ between a lower and a higher grade.   For example, students with an 88.8 average might receive                                 AÕs if their attendance and participation have been strong.

 

 

 

       The Professor will use the following grading scale:

 

90-100 – A                     

87-89   -- B+           

80-86    - B             

77-79  --  C+

70-76  --  C

67-69   -- D+

60-66  --  D                     

Below 60 -- F

      

IV.  Attendance Policy and Grades:  More Detailed Discussion

 

       Consistent with the instructor's own educational philosophy and the rules and regulations of the University of Georgia, attendance,  regular and prompt, and for the entire duration of the class sessions, is required.

 

       Absences  0 -- Very Good Attendance

                        1-2 --  Good Attendance

                        3-4  -- Fair Attendance

                        5 or more -- Bad Attendance

 

Note:  Every unexcused absence above four (4) will result in a two point deduction from the overall semester grade for each such unexcused absence. Students who do not attend at least two (20) class sessions will receive an F for the course.  Students are 100% responsible for all information missed because of absences.  Exam dates are subject to change with at least a one-week notice.  Students are responsible for keeping abreast of all exam schedules originally projected or revised.   An excused absence is recognized by the professor for an absence that he concludes is either unavoidable for emergency and/or for which there is a vitally pressing reason(s) for such absence.

 

       The professor will consider regular class attendance and classroom participation in assessing each studentÕs final grade.  Therefore, class attendance and classroom participation might prove to be a very crucial, determinative factor in cases where the average is borderline between two grades.

 

       Students are required to take all exams. Students who miss an exam for non-sufficiently valid reason(s) will be assigned "0" for that exam and the Ò0Ó will be computed as part of the final grade.

 

       When an attendance sign-up sheet is not passed around, then the class roll will be taken 5-6 minutes after scheduled start time for class.  Latecomers will be marked ÒlateÓ;  three lates equal one absence.  Students arriving 10-15 minutes late will be marked extra late;    two extra  lates equal one absence.  A student not present within the first 15 minutes of each class session will be marked absent for that class session and is requested not to enter the class during that period.

 

 

 

 

Additional Comments regarding Attendance, Participation, and Class Professionalism:

 

       Consistent with the instructor's own educational philosophy and the rules and regulations of the University of Georgia, attendance,  regular and prompt, and for the entire duration of the class sessions, is required.   Students who have unavoidable appointments or unavoidable obligations that require their absence during any portion of the class time should see the professor prior to or as soon after the date of the appointment/obligation as possible because under no circumstances whatsoever should students leave class before it is dismissed by the professor.  Students who cannot stay for the entire class period must miss that class period rather than leave during class time.  Failure to abide by this policy will result in being marked absent for the entire class session and removal from class if the professor believes such becomes necessary.   

       Of course students must attend class on the examination days.  Students are 100% responsible for all information missed because of absences.  Exam dates are subject to change with at least a one-week notice.  Students are responsible for keeping abreast of all exam schedules originally projected or revised.  

       This class will be largely lecture in nature.  The professor will attempt to provide time for class discussion and participation.  The professor will consider participation and discussion in determining final grades in borderline situations between two grades.

       An excused absence is one for which a student has written proof (if at all attainable) that one's absence was necessitated by a valid cause, e.g., incapacitating illness, death in one's immediate or close family or of someone close to the student.  (Sleeping late,  hangovers,  and studying for exams are not accepted as excused absences.)  Doctor and dental appointments, participation in extra-curricular UGA activities, and job interviews may or may not be excusable.  Consult  the instructor prior to the absence, if at all possible;  if such is not possible, then consult the instructor as soon as possible after the fact.  Attendance at weddings, baptisms, bar or bat mitzvahs, etc. are not normally excusable absences.  But, again, consult the instructor.

       The professor does not generally give make-up examinations, even for unavoidable absences.  Instead,  if the class is given an extra exam,  persons might use that one as a substitute for an exam missed because of valid reasons or they may take an extended final examination that compensates for an exam missed because of valid reasons.

 

V.  Other Important Points

 

       Honesty Policy:  All academic work must meet the standards contained in ÒA Culture of Honesty.Ó  All students are responsible to inform themselves about those standards before performing any academic work. 

 

       All students are required to be acquainted with and abide by the honesty policy of the University of Georgia.  Students should do their own work, properly attribute credit when using that of others, be responsible, and be honest.  

 

      This Syllabus:  The course syllabus is a general plan for the course;  deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

 

 

      Office Hours:  Note the professor's office hours and use them as the need or inclination arises.  Remember, if you have questions or concerns, it is your responsibility to discuss these matters in a rational, courteous, and responsible manner with your instructor.

 

 

Course Outline for

RELI/AFAM 4202  and RELI 6202:  Southern Religious History

 

Dr. Sandy Dwayne Martin (martin@uga.edu)

Fall Semester 2006

 

I.  Introduction:  The Course (August 17)

 

II.  Background of American Religions (August 22, 24, 29, 31)

 

      Readings A (Required for both 4202 and 6202):

 

      1.  Judaism --Hill,  Encyclopedia,  Judaism

      2.  Christianity -- Encyclopedia, Protestantism  and Roman Catholicism

      3.  Islam --  Encyclopedia,  Islam

      4.  African Religions -- Raboteau, Slave Religion,  ch. 1

      5.  Native American Religions  --Encyclopedia, Native American Religions

            Pre-Contact

 

      Readings B (Required Readings for RELI 6202 and Recommended for RELI 4202):

                                                                       

            Jews in the South,  Native American Religions since 1600

 

III.  The Colonial Phase, ca. 1607 -- ca. 1783 (September 5, 7)

 

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      Mathews, ch. 1

      Raboteau, ch. 2

      Encyclopedia, pp. 1-6.

 

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

            Beth Elohim, Disestablishment, Established Religion, Greek Orthodox Church, Jews in the South, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Appendix (Colonial Period).

 

 

 

IV.  The Rise and Growth of Evangelicalism in Colonial and National Phases,  ca. 1720 -- ca. 1860  (September 12, 14,   19-First Exam,   21)

 

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      Mathews, ch. 2

      Raboteau, ch. 3

      Encyclopedia, pp. 6-19

 

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

            Andrew Bryan, Samuel Davies, Evangelicalism, Great Awakening, Great Revival,   Devereaux Jarrett, Silver Bluff Church, Shubal Stearns, George Whitefield.   

 

V.  Evangelical Southern Society:  Institutions, Plantation Missions, Interracial  Contacts,  ca. 1800 -- ca. 1860 (September 26, 28, October 3)

 

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      Mathews, ch. 3

      Raboteau, ch. 4 and 5

 

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

            Campbellite Tradition, Grimke Sisters, Landmark Movement,

            Methodist Episcopal Church (South),  Mission to Slaves, Mormons,

            Southern Baptist Convention, Triennial Convention.       

 

VI.  Southern Black Religion in the National Phase, ca. 1800 -- ca. 1861

(October 5, 10  [Midpoint is October 4;  midpoint withdrawal  is Oct. 9)

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      Raboteau, ch. 5

      Recommended:  Mathews, ch. 5

 

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

            African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,  Black Catholicism, Lott Carey, Invisible Institution  

 

 

 

VII.  The Slavery Issue and Southern Christians, ca. 1780 -- ca. 1861

                             (October 12, 17,   Second Exam-19)

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      Mathews, ch. 4

      Raboteau,  ch. 6

      Recommended:  Mathews, ch. 6

 

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

            Morris Brown,  Methodist Episcopal Church  (South),  Southern Baptist Convention,  Denmark Vesey.

 

 

VIII.  Civil War and Reconstruction:  Issues and Eras,  ca. 1837 -- ca. 1880

                             (October 24 – Second Exam?, 31, November 2, 7)

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      1.  Civil War

 

            Hill, Encyclopedia,  Abolitionism,  Civil War, Judah Philip Benjamin,  Presbyterian Church in the United States, Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States

     

      2.  Reconstruction -- Encyclopedia,  American Missionary Association,  Lost Cause (The),  Henry McNeal Turner

     

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

             Mary Boykin Chestnut,  Robert Louis Dabney,  Thomas Dixon (Jr.),  Abraham Lincoln, James Henley Thornwell

 

IX.  Selected Developments in Post-Civil War South, ca. 1865 -- ca. 1930      

                (November 9, 14, 16, 21 - Third Exam?)

           

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      1.  Racial Issues

 

            Encyclopedia, pp. 19-29,  Association of Southern Women for the Prevention

                of Lynching, Ku Klux Klan

 

      2.  Rise of Black Denominations

 

            Christian Methodist Episcopal Church,   National Baptists, Second Cumberland Presbyterian Church

      IX.   (Post-Civil War South) continued . . .

 

      3.  Southern White Christian Identity

 

            Lost Cause (The)

 

      4.  Rise of Holiness and Pentecostal Groups

 

            Assemblies of God,  Church of God in Christ  (Inc.),  Church of the Nazarene,  Holiness Movement,  Pentecostalism,  William Joseph Seymour

     

      5.  Fundamentalism, Modernism, Millennialism, and Social Gospel

 

            Fundamentalism,  Modernist Controversy,  Millennialism,  Social Gospel

 

      6.  Evolution Controversy

 

            Evolution Controversy,  Scopes Trial

 

      7. Temperance and Women

 

            Eighteenth Amendment,  Temperance,  Woman's Christian Temperance Union,  Women in Religion

 

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

            Bible (Authority of), Bible (Interpretation of), Bible (Inspiration of), Louis Dembitz Brandeis, William Jennings Bryan, Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), Church of God in Christ (Inc.), Church of God of Prophecy,  Fire Baptized Holiness Church (of God of the Americas), Frank (Leo, Case),  Atticus Greene Haygood,   Keswick Movement,  Charles Harrison Mason, Henry Lewis Mencken,  Lottie (Charlotte Digges) Moon,  John Franklin Norris, Benjamin Morgan Palmer,  Rapture, Sanctification, John Thomas Scopes, Scopes Trial,  Segregation,  Snake Handlers.

 

X.  Rise of the Modern South,  ca. 1930 - Present  (November 28, 30)

 

      Readings A (4202/6202):

 

      1.  Overview

 

            Encyclopedia, pp. 29-37

 

      2.  Literature

 

            Mary Flannery O'Connor,  Walker Percy, William Faulkner

X.  (Modern South) continued . . .

      3.  Southern White Moderates, "Liberals,"  and Radicals

 

            Will D. Campbell,  Christian Socialism, Committee on Interracial Cooperation,  Fellowship of Southern Churchmen,  Southern Tenants Farmers' Union

 

      4.  Civil Rights Movement

 

            Civil Rights Movement,  Martin Luther King (Jr.),  Southern Christian Leadership Conference

 

      5.  Religious Leaders

 

            Will W. Alexander,  Bernard Baruch, Mary McCleod Bethune, 

            Electronic Church, Billy Graham,  Oral Roberts,  Jones (Bob, Family)

 

       6.  Politics,  Religion, and Conservative Christian Politics

 

            James Earl Carter,  Moral Majority

 

      7.  New Religious Movements and Recent Developments

 

            Charismatic Movements,  Santeria,  Appendix  (Recent South)

 

      Readings B (6202; Recommended for 4202):

 

            Baptist Bible Fellowship,  Black Ministerial Protest Leadership (1955-1970),  Will D. Campbell,  Caribbean Immigration,  Charismatic Movements, Christian Schools,  Committee on Southern Churchmen, Wallie Amos Criswell,  Faith   Healing, Tobias Geffen, Harry Golden, Charles Emmanuel Grace,  Mordecai Fowler Ham (Jr.), Billy James Hargis, Joseph Harrison Jackson,  Clarence Jordan,  Martin Luther King (Jr.),   Koinonia Farm,  Presbyterian Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA),  Jacob M. Rothschild,  Lillian Eugenia Smith,  Southern Sociological Congress, Theology (Southern), Dorothy Rogers Tilly, United Presbyterian Church, Willis Duke Weatherford, Gertrude Weil.

 

XI.  Conclusion  (December 5)      

 

 Final Examination: Thursday,  December. 14,  2006,  time: 8 – 11 a.m.    

 

 

NOTE: 

     

      The course syllabus is a general plan for the course;  deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

 

Keep both this syllabus with course outline and consult it often.  It is a vital guide for this course.  Students are encouraged, expected, and advised to ask questions during the quarter about the syllabus/outline in particular or the course in general concerning points which they feel require greater clarity.  The instructor reserves the right to alter the format or content of the syllabus/outline as his professional discretion dictates or allows or as the occasion demands.  But the format and content should remain reasonably and fundamentally intact.

 

"WHERE I STAND" GRADE SUMMARY

 

RELI 4202 / AFAM 4202 / RELI 6202      

Fall Semester 2006

Dr. Sandy D. Martin, Professor

 

 

 

Name ______________________________________________

 

 

A.  Computing Where I Stand in the Course

 

Exam #1 ___________ 

 

Exam #2 ___________

 

Exam #3 ___________    (or Paper for Graduate Students)

 

 

Total Points __________ divided by 3 = ____________

 

This is where you stand in the course.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B.  Computing Final Course Grade

 

Average of A above __________ x 2 or 3 = _________________ plus

 

        Final exam         ___________x 1        = _________________ equals

                                                                                                                     by 3 or 4 =

SEMESTER'S GRADE                                  _________________

                                                                         divided by 3 or 4         =

 

                                                                           _________________

If you did the personal essay at the beginning of course add one (1) point to final grade.