Early American Religion
April 12 and 17, 2007
April 12, 2007
Mr. Latzman, Ms. Layton, and Mr. Sudarshan broke their presentation into three parts: “William Penn,” “The Great Awakening,” and “Early American Religion and the Roots of Religious Tolerance.”
Currently, I have had a particular interest in how courses could be internationalized. While Ms. Layton was focusing on William Penn’s life, I considered how Penn—a man who never set foot on what is now the United States—might be considered an American hero. I can see asking students this question as a way to begin a discussion on European influences on American thought.
Mr. Sudarshan’s presentation on “The Great Awakening” was well done. I was particularly impressed with how he related the Second Great Awakening to perfectionism, a concept we have been discussing all semester.
The bulk of the presentation was handled by Mr. Latzman who built on the first two parts as he discussed “Early American Religion and the Roots of Religious Tolerance.” To begin his section, Mr. Latzman rhetorically asked, “Is America a Christian Nation?” He then launched into a discussion of the Age of Enlightenment during which he mentioned the work of Adam Smith, Cotton Mather, John Locke, Balthaza Becker, Sir Isaac Newton, and Voltaire. He then related these ideas to deism and how America’s founding fathers would have viewed religion.
In addition to building on the two previous parts of today’s presentation, Mr. Latzman related Becker’s De Betoverde Weereld [The World Bewitched] (1691) to the Malleus Maleficarum and “The Salem Witch Trials.”
Mr. Latzman has agreed to make his presentation available on-line.
April 17, 2007
Mr. Latzman and Ms. Layton facilitated a discussion over the issues that had been raised during their presentation.
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Presenters:
Josh Latzman
Jessica Layton
Suhas Sudarshan
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