Help me with a booklist?

by corvibae

Hello,

I am a history graduate student in my last semester and for once I'm taking a class for which I have no frame of reference. It's an independent study on the history of religion in the 19th century, and I'm only really taking it because I need to be taking a full courseload stay on as a teaching assistant. My wheelhouse generally focuses on 20th century political movements, revolutions, and conflicts. Given that, I'm a bit out of my depth.

My professor asked me to compile about 30 books together. I planned to work on it a bit earlier, but then I had to move, and became temporarily homeless. Does anybody have good recommendations?

Thanks.

RockNRollJedi

The religion section on the AskHistorians Book List might be a good place to start!

sunagainstgold
  • Randall Fuller, The Book That Changed America: How Darwin's Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation
  • Alex Owen, The Place of Enchantment: British Occultism and the Culture of the Modern
  • Mark Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis
  • J.P. Daughton, An Empire Divided: Religion, Republicanism, and the Making of French Colonialism, 1880-1914
  • Kathryn Gin Lum, Damned Nation: Hell in America from the Revolution to Reconstruction (she did a great AMA here awhile back!)
  • Candy Brown, The Word in the World: Evangelical Writing, Publishing, and Reading in America, 1789-1880

just offhand.

A few more areas you would want to cover:

  • revival of Jewish intellectual life in Eastern Europe, including the birth of Zionism
  • colonial/mission religion in Africa and Africans' responses
  • rise of academic theology and 19C modes of historical critical biblical interpretation (18C origins, but really a 19C entrenchment)
  • American (especially) fascination with Islam
  • muscular Christianity
  • Holiness movements in the US
  • Christianity and social reform in the Progressive era
  • spinoff to the above, temperance activism
  • maybe something about Catholic immigration to the US, especially Irish?
  • African diaspora religion(s), including African-American Christianities (you might end up with a multicentury take, here)

The other thing you could do that might be more up your alley--pick a bunch of political moments or phenomena in the 19C and look for a "religion and X" book about each. Glance at a couple reviews to make sure they have a good academic reputation. ;)

Lost_in_the_Ozone

In somewhat chronological order and definitely American focus:

  • Stephen R. Haynes, Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery
  • Mark Noll, America's God
  • Richard J. Carwardine, Evangelicals and Politics in Antebellum America
  • McKivigan and Snay, editors. Religion and the Antebellum Debate over Slavery
  • Mitchell Snay, Gospel of Disunion: Religion and Separatism in the Antebellum South
  • Sylviane A. Diouf, Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas
  • If you're looking for any kind of primary source From slave cabin to the pulpit : the autobiography of Rev. Peter Randolph is good and freely available
  • L.H. Whelchel Jr. Sherman's March and the Emergence of the Independent Black Church Movement: From Atlanta to the Sea to Emancipation
  • Charles Reagan Wilson, Baptized in Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause, 1865-1920
  • Clifford Putney, Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920
  • Edward J. Blum & Paul Harvey, The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America
  • Bradley J. Longfield, The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalist, Modernists, and Moderates- This is a good one on the literalist/fundamentalist-Modernist split in the US which has had some real repercussions even up to today
  • There really isn't a good synthesis text but authors of the Progressive Era Social Gospel movement of the late 19th and early 20th century include Walter Rauchenbusch, Josiah Strong and Washington Gladden.