Saturday, 28 April 2012

Which Textbook is the Best for American Religious History?

Now that I am officially on break, I need to prepare for my two upcoming courses in the fall, one of which is "Religion in American Life." This is basically a course on American religious history. The description in the catalog reads: "Attention to distinctly American phenomena, with the intention of assessing the present role and status of religion; consideration of such topics as separation of church and state, revivalism, the influence of immigration, sects, and cults."

I have narrowed it down to the following textbooks, but which one should I use?

Sydney Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People
Jon Butler, Grant Wacker, Randall Balmer, Religion in American Life: A Short History
John Corrigan, Religion in America
Edwin Gaustad and Leigh Schmidt, The Religious History of America
Charles H. Lippy, Introducing American Religion

 

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