Ttc - Prof. Patrick N Allitt - American Religious History Best
, taught by Prof. Patrick N. Allitt for The Great Courses (TTC), is a 24-lecture survey that explores the immense vitality and diversity of religious life in the United States from European contact to the late 20th century. Course Overview
As America industrialized and integrated new scientific ideas like Darwinian evolution, the religious landscape fractured along new lines. Allitt details the dramatic of the 1920s, epitomized by the famous Scopes "Monkey" Trial. The course then tracks how these groups evolved:
How did a deeply religious people create a secular Constitution? Allitt expertly unpacks the paradox of the Founding Fathers. He explores how Deists like Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin aligned with evangelical Baptists to push for the separation of church and state. The Baptists wanted protection from state interference, while the Deists wanted to protect the state from religious tyranny. This compromise resulted in the unique American system of religious voluntarism—where churches had to compete for followers like businesses in a free market. 3. The Democratization of American Christianity TTC - Prof. Patrick N Allitt - American Religious History
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His central thesis here is profound: The American notion of "manifest destiny" and the "city on a hill" has always been active, not passive. Believers felt compelled to remake the world. , taught by Prof
: 24 lectures, approximately 30 minutes each (12 hours total).
A central thesis of Prof. Allitt’s lectures is that America was never religiously uniform. While popular mythology focuses heavily on the New England Puritans, the colonial era was actually a patchwork of competing belief systems. The Puritan Experiment Course Overview As America industrialized and integrated new
The history of American religion is also marked by the impact of immigration and pluralism. As waves of immigrants arrived on American shores, they brought with them their own faiths and traditions, contributing to the rich diversity of American religious life. Prof. Allitt explores the complex relationships between immigrant faiths and American culture, highlighting the ways in which new immigrant communities have shaped American religion and society.
His academic work includes writing and editing several key texts on the subject, such as Religion in America Since 1945: A History and the widely used textbook Major Problems in American Religious History . Beyond this course, he has authored nine other lecture series for The Great Courses on topics ranging from the Victorian era to environmental history, and his published books cover religious history, education, politics, and environmental history.
Unlike European nations with state-sponsored churches, America became a free market of faith.