Archived Version

The Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study has been formulated as a dynamic online publication in order to provide the most up to date information possible. Master versions of the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study incorporating all changes to date are archived twice a year on 1 September and within the first three University working days prior to the start of Semester 2 in January. Please note that some of the data recorded about this course has been amended since the last master version was archived. That version should be consulted to determine the changes made.

view archived version

Ecclesiastical History 2C: Social Christianity in the North Atlantic World (U03616)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 8 ? Acronym : DIV-2-EH2C

What should be the Christian response to the problems of modern urban-industrial societies? Is it possible to maintain a Christian society amid the complexities of industrialisation, urbanisation, global trade networks and democratic politics? How much influence can the Churches as institutions exercise in the multi-ethnic cultures created by the mass migrations of peoples in the emerging global economy? This course will explore these questions by considering the responses of the Churches to modernisation in the world's three most advanced industrial nations; Great Britain, Germany and the United States; during the later nineteenth and early twentieth century. In particular, it will investigate the complex movement known as; social Christianity; or the social gospel;, in which Christians struggled to revive the idea of the Kingdom of God amid the turmoil of class strife, racial and ethnic tensions, mass deprivation, rapid social and economic change, and international rivalries. It will give special attention to Christian social thought as illustrated by certain key proponents of social Christianity, including F.D. Maurice and William Temple in Great Britain, Adolph Harnack and Karl Barth in German-speaking Europe, and Walter Rauschenbusch and Reinhold Niebuhr in the United States.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : History of Christianity as a World Religion 1A and 1B recommended. This is a second level course aimed primarily at undergraduates in the second year of their degree, but also available to visiting students.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Ecclesiastical History, (School of Divinity, Schedule B)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 2nd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	14:00	14:50	Central
Lecture	Tuesday	14:00	14:50	Central
Lecture	Thursday	14:00	14:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The course will provide students with a broad overview of social Christianity within its social context, and it will give them an understanding of how the social gospel played a major role in shaping Christian social thought in the modern Western world, particularly through its influence on some seminal theologians of the twentieth century. The lectures will promote a critical understanding of the past and will introduce some of the major historical interpretations of the period, while seminar meetings will enhance skills in the analysis of primary documents and in orderly and accurate oral presentation of ideas. The preparation of the essay will strengthen writing skills and to enhance abilities in research and in the development of arguments.

Assessment Information

The summative assessment will have two components: a 2000-word essay, counting 40%, chosen from a wide choice of titles, to be submitted by the 9th week of the course (Monday, 6 March by 1pm), and a written degree examination in the May diet lasting two hours and containing nine questions with three to be answered, which will count 60%. Attendance at the weekly seminars is required, and students are expected to contribute intelligently to seminar discussions on the basis of the specified reading.