Description: The subject of this course is the history of Christianity from the late Middle Ages to the present. This fascinating era has been both a time of unprecedented strife between Christians and a time of remarkable vitality, as new modes of living and expressing the Christian message have emerged to meet the demands of the modern day. It has given rise to the fracturing of the Western Christian tradition into an array of rival confessions, the erosion of Christianity’s hold on the hearts and minds of Europeans, and serious challenges posed by rival ideologies, such as scientism, socialism, nationalism, and fascism. In these same centuries, countless Christians have risen to meet the challenges of their times, offering compelling witness to the timeless message of the Gospel. While concerned with all the major confessions, this course places special emphasis on the modern history of the Catholic Church. Its geographical focus is on Europe, but the history of Christianity in Africa and Asia are also taken into account (the Americas are treated in 40:511). While some mention will be made of modern developments in theology, our primary interests lay elsewhere, including the political, social, and cultural dimensions of the faith. This is primarily a lecture course, but our meetings will be augmented with group discussions of selected texts.

Seminary: Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology

Science areas: History of science, geography, scientism