Thehistoriography of religion is how historians have studiedreligion in terms of themes, sources and conflicting ideas. Historians typically focus on one particular topic in the overallhistory of religions in terms of geographical area or of theological tradition.
Historians for centuries focused on the theological developments of their own religious heritage. Social scientists in the 19th century took a strong interest in "primitive" andcomparative religion. In the 20th century, the field focused mostly ontheology and church organization and development. Since the 1970s thesocial history approach to religious behavior and belief has become important.[1]
Jacob argues that there has been a dramatic shift in thehistoriography of theReformation. Until the 1960s, historians focused their attention largely on 16th-century theologians such asMartin Luther,John Calvin, andHuldrych Zwingli. Their ideas were studied in depth. However, the rise of thenew social history in the 1960s look at history from the bottom up, not from the top down. Historians began to concentrate on the values, beliefs and behavior of the people at large. She finds, "in contemporary scholarship, the Reformation is now seen as a vast cultural upheaval, a social and popular movement, textured and rich because of its diversity".[2]
New approaches to the history of Christianity were introduced byLeopold von Ranke (1795–1886) andPhilip Schaff (1819–1892). They emphasized the need for more neutrality, with the goal of understanding history as it actually happened, rather than promoting or defending ones theological heritage. Von Ranke in 1843 finished his six‐volumeGerman History in the Epoch of the Reformation then turned to a multivolumeHistory of the Popes during the Last Four Centuries. Schaff, deeply schooled in the German tradition, relocated to the United States in 1844. HisHistory of the Christian Church (7 vols., 1858–1890), set new standards for the American study of ecclesiastical history. He demonstrated how to integrate liturgical developments. He also introduced European scholars to American religion, arguing that American sectarianism, with all its faults, was preferable to European church-statism.[3]
Pietism was originated in18th-century Germany and was emulated in neighboring countries. It had a major impact in England and North America, where it affected theMethodist movement and a series of revival outbursts known as theGreat Awakening in the United States. It involved an intense internal focus on sin and salvation through Christ, and in the form ofevangelicalism, remains a powerful force in Protestantism well into the 21st century. Pietism emphasize the value of revivals, leading to the born-again experience, and inspired its followers to set high moralistic standards for public behavior, as in such areas as opposition to alcohol and slavery.[4]
Historians have explored the impact of the new religious sentiments of the 18th and 19th century on the organizational behavior of laymen. Protestants sponsored voluntary charitable and religious societies, including overseas missions throughout the empire, setting upSunday schools, founding charity schools, distributing Bibles and devotional literature, creating and emphasizing hymns and communal singing, and setting up revivals.[5] A major result was the establishment of an international battle against slavery as an affront to Protestant morality.[6]
Hartmut Lehmann argues that four basic themes dominated the history of Christianity during the 20th century: the rise of "political religions", drastic technological changes, progressive secularization, and the impressive growth of Christian communities in the Southern Hemisphere.[8]
Much recent research is focused on the expansion of Christianity throughout the developing world.[11][12] Protestant and Catholic religions, starting their strongholds in European colonial powers, propagated throughout the third world in the 20th century – especially in Africa. For example,Nigeria has far moreAnglicans than does Great Britain.[13] Missionaries, especially from the United States, promotedMormonism,Jehovah's Witnesses,Seventh-day Adventists, and holiness andPentecostal denominations to highly receptive audiences.[14]
^McGreevy, John T. (March 1998). "Faith and Morals in the Modern United States, 1865-Present".Reviews in American History.26 (1). The Johns Hopkins University Press:239–254.doi:10.1353/rah.1998.0015.JSTOR30030882.S2CID144143538.
^Thomas Albert Howard (March 2007). "Philip Schaff: Religion, Politics, and the Transatlantic World".Journal of Church and State.49 (2). Oxford University Press:191–210.doi:10.1093/jcs/49.2.191.
^Hartmut Lehmann (September 2002). "The History of Twentieth-Century Christianity as a Challenge for Historians".Church History.71 (3). Cambridge University Press:585–599.doi:10.1017/S0009640700130288.JSTOR4146421.S2CID163455754.
^Morris, Jeremy (March 2012). "Secularization and Religious Experience: Arguments in the Historiography of Modern British Religion".The Historical Journal.55 (1). Cambridge University Press:195–219.doi:10.1017/S0018246X11000598.S2CID162230597.
^David B. Barrett, et al. eds.World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World, vol. 1, The World by Countries: Religionists, Churches, Ministries; vol. 2: The World by Segments: Religions, Peoples, Languages, Cities, Topics (2nd ed. 2001)
^Andrew Wingate and Carrie Pemberton, eds.Anglicanism: A Global Communion (Church Publishing, Inc., 1998).
^Corten, André (1997). "The Growth of the Literature on Afro‐American, Latin American and African Pentecostalism".Journal of Contemporary Religion.12 (3):311–334.doi:10.1080/13537909708580808.
Dolan, Jay P., and James P. Wind, eds.New Dimensions in American Religious History: Essays in Honor of Martin E. Marty (Eerdmans, 1993)
Fox, Richard Wightman. "Experience and Explanation in Twentieth-Century American Religious History",New Directions in American Religious History ed. by Harry Stout and D. G. Hart (1997) pp: 394-413.
Frey, Sylvia R. "The Visible Church: Historiography of African American Religion since Raboteau",Slavery & Abolition (2008) 29#1 pp 83–110.
Schultz, Kevin M.; Harvey, Paul. "Everywhere and Nowhere: Recent Trends in American Religious History and Historiography",Journal of the American Academy of Religion, March 2010, Vol. 78#1 pp 129–162
