Religion 259 - History of Christianity

This course will survey the development of Christian ideas and institutions from their beginning in the first century as a tiny movement on the fringes of Judaism, through the period of Christian empire, and ending with the apparent secularization of much of the west and the growth of Christianity in the 'Global South'. Each day we will discuss primary readings in their historical contexts. We will pay particular attention to the many different ways Christians have described the relation of church and state and of religion and science.