[3/16/2010] Religion: Hot Historical Topic
March 25, 2010 by Bruce Gourley
As a recent story in Christianity Today notes, religion is the hottest topic among members of the American Historical Association.
Here are a few quotes from the story:
“The study of religion is too important to be left in the hands of believers.
So claims David A. Hollinger, a professor of American history at the University of California at Berkeley, in his response to religion emerging as the hottest topic of study among members of the American Historical Association (AHA).
Perhaps surprisingly, leading evangelical scholars voiced general agreement with his basic premise.
“The practice of history is best served by many historians working from all their separate angles,” said Rick Kennedy, president of the Conference on Faith and History (CFH) and a professor of history at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. “What is good about the new surge in religious history is that something that was neglected is now gaining its rightful place.” ….
In an annual survey of AHA members, 7.7 percent of respondents selected religion as one of three areas of interest. That topped the 7.5 percent who chose cultural history, ranked number one for 15 years.”
Many Baptist historians will certainly welcome this news. In many respects, Baptist history is the story of America, sharing central themes such as democratic principles, freedom of conscience, religious liberty, and separation of church and state.
Furthermore, the current landscape of religion worldwide – growing fundamentalism, religious violence, denial of separation of church and state among a large segment of American Christians, cultural issues, post-denominational trends, and more – indicate that faith groups face serious challenges in the 21st century. As central players in the narrative of forming shared values and principles of freedom now cherished by many nations across the globe, Baptists have an opportunity to speak and be heard in a redemptive fashion in our world today and in the future.
Hello,
As somebody who holds a BA in History from Gallaudet University, and as a born-again Christian, please allow me to offer my input on your article.
When I became a born-again Christian, I took history courses at a small bible college, and to my surprise, there were many differences between what secular and Baptist history professors taught. Not only that, both offered two completely different worldviews on how to interpret the course of history and our present world as well.
Today, in my work as a history teacher, I’ve attempted to correct some of widely accepted secular interpretations of history when teaching my bible college students. It is helpful to keep in your mind that the difference between secular and Baptist historians is that for many Baptists, they have the light of Christ (Holy Spirit) dwelling inside them and acting as their guide. The secular historians have no such guidance, for they are in darkness until they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
I would caution you to welcome this news, because many secular historians will not readily accept our analyses of religious, political, economic, and social history from the Baptist prespective. If we allow them to redefine what the Baptist history is, then we run the risk of losing our Baptist voice when speaking to wider audience.
Thanks for reading my comment.
Dan
Dan,
Thanks for the note, and your point of view. I’d be interested in learning more of your own Baptist background.
I, too, have taught history courses at a religious (Baptist) institution. For my part, I would caution against using the phrase “the Baptist perspective,” as there is no one (official or not) Baptist perspective. The sad truth is that many contemporary – and often well-meaning – Baptists have redefined and rewritten their own faith heritage. And many “secular” historians do indeed exhibit more respect for our Baptist heritage of freedom of conscience, religious liberty, separation of church and state, local church autonomy, and democratic principles, than do many Baptists at large. But … I do hope that a renewed focus on the history of religion in America will result in more “secular” historians delving into, and coming to appreciate, the finer points of the Baptist story.
Unfortunately, having the “light of Christ” does not always translate into a commitment to historical honesty on the part of Christians. And perhaps our “secular” counterparts can help us deal with the honesty issue.
Bruce Gourley
Bruce,
Thanks for replying to my comment.
Yes, I agree with you that there is not a single, official Baptist prespective. It was my mistake, I should have said from the Independent Baptist prespective. But let me hasten to say that even within the Independent Baptist circles, there is not a complete agreement on what constitutes exactly an Independent Baptist prespective.
I belong to an Independent, Fundamental Baptist church. I was looking on the Internet for the best baptist history books for my summer school class. I came across your website, and I must admit that it looks good and provides invaluable information on the general (if you will) baptist history.
As for Christians not always being completely honest when it comes down to doing historical research, I agree with you on that one. However, I would argue that for secular historians, they tend not to view the course of history from the spiritual prespective. I’ve read many secular books which describe the unfolding of human history from either evolutionary or political viewpoint. While on the other hand, I’ve read some good books that describe some historical subjects differently from the religious (whatever that may be) viewpoint. Think of this way: viewing history is like looking at a mult-faceted diamond, you view the diamond differently from different sides.
You may be right that if more secular historians were to delve into the finer points of Baptist history, they would appreciate more what the Baptists had to contribue to the concept of religious liberty, conscience, and democratic principles. But will they accept our historical research or insist on interpreting the Baptist story differently? Many colleges are now offering courses on religion, but sadly, many professors teaching those courses are not always truthful or teaching from the wrong materials. So, to me, it would appear that there are both pros and cons of getting secular historians more involved in our study of Baptist history.
Dan
Dan,
I have no doubt that you are correct when you say, “there are both pros and cons of getting secular historians more involved in our study of Baptist history.”
And while I am not a fundamentalist Baptist, I am personally appreciative of the commitment to religious liberty and separation of church and state that is common among independent fundamentalist Baptists.
Bruce