Briane Turley

A 2011-2012. tanév első félévében Dr. Briane Turley, az egyesült államokbeli West Virginia University külső oktatója American Religious History címmel kurzust tart karunkon, melyet anglisztika BA és vallástudomány BA szakos hallgatók kreditért vehetnek fel. A kurzus leírása itt olvasható:


American Religious History (compressed course!!)
hist/cult, 2-3, lect, BAAM, BAAMmin
Briane Turley
AMEBA41 Cult Theories and AmSt

German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once remarked that “it has been granted to the Americans less than any other nation on earth to realize the visible unity of the church of God.” What is religion’s role and function for a society as religiously pluralistic as the United States? Bonhoeffer’s striking observation reflects upon American expressions of the Christian tradition only. While a remarkable variety of Christian groups abound in the United States, most are losing members. Yet sociological surveys demonstrate that the nation remains religious. Alternative traditions abound, and Wicca, for example, has recently emerged as the fastest growing religion of choice among the nation’s young people.
Our survey of religion in America will address this question of pluralism vs. cultural identity by reference to the historical development of religion in the U.S. We will begin with a careful examination of Native-American religion and the European religious traditions transplanted into the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century American milieu. We will also investigate the development of traditions indigenous to the North American continent and examine the underlying American consciousness of “manifest destiny,” “sacred space,” and the pervading characterization of Americans as a “chosen people” and consider why these centuries-old cultural myths are rapidly fading today.