The study of religion, traditionally sponsored by sectarian institutions, has within recent decades come to claim an increasingly larger share of attention in colleges and universities generally, and in the process the constituent intellectual disciplines have undergone significant changes. In this volume, twelve distinguished scholars take stock of the current state of the field and explore the prospects for future development. The areas covered in the essays (with their authors) are biblical studies (Stendhal), Western religious history (Clebsch), philosophy of religion (Diamond), theology (McGill), Catholic studies (Preller), Jewish studies (Neusner), sociology of religion (Harrison), comparative religious ethics (Little), history of religions (Sullivan), religion and art (Turner), and religion and literature (Driver). A "practical commentary" on the current state of the field (Gustafson) concludes the volume. Taken together, the essays provide an overview of the subject matter of religion study that should enable scholars of religion to situate and define their own work while helping others to appreciate the claims that work has upon the resources and concerns of colleges and universities. Originally published in 1970. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The study of religion, traditionally sponsored by sectarian institutions, has within recent decades come to claim an increasingly larger share of attention in colleges and universities generally, and in the process the constituent intellectual disciplines have undergone significant changes. In this volume, twelve distinguished scholars take stock of the current state of the field and explore the prospects for future development. The areas covered in the essays (with their authors) are biblical studies (Stendhal), Western religious history (Clebsch), philosophy of religion (Diamond), theology (McGill), Catholic studies (Preller), Jewish studies (Neusner), sociology of religion (Harrison), comparative religious ethics (Little), history of religions (Sullivan), religion and art (Turner), and religion and literature (Driver). A "practical commentary" on the current state of the field (Gustafson) concludes the volume. Taken together, the essays provide an overview of the subject matter of religion study that should enable scholars of religion to situate and define their own work while helping others to appreciate the claims that work has upon the resources and concerns of colleges and universities. Originally published in 1970. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Before the outbreak of hostilities between Charles I and the Long Parliament, the King had authorized a regular monthly fast for the realm which members of parliament later adopted as a program of national humiliation. At the invitation of individual members of parliament, two preachers, generally leading puritan clerics connected with the Westminster Assembly, which had been convened for the purpose of reforming the Church of England, were invited to speak. Drawing from some 240 published sermons, Professor Wilson presents a survey of the program, giving detailed scrutiny to the form and contents of the sermons. His aim throughout is to clarify the puritans' conceptions of the relationship between their religious movement and the political events of the period, and to assess the importance of these sermons for the interpretation of Puritanism. Originally published in 1969. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Before the outbreak of hostilities between Charles I and the Long Parliament, the King had authorized a regular monthly fast for the realm which members of parliament later adopted as a program of national humiliation. At the invitation of individual members of parliament, two preachers, generally leading puritan clerics connected with the Westminster Assembly, which had been convened for the purpose of reforming the Church of England, were invited to speak. Drawing from some 240 published sermons, Professor Wilson presents a survey of the program, giving detailed scrutiny to the form and contents of the sermons. His aim throughout is to clarify the puritans' conceptions of the relationship between their religious movement and the political events of the period, and to assess the importance of these sermons for the interpretation of Puritanism. Originally published in 1969. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

American higher education was transformed between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I. During this period, U.S. colleges underwent fundamental changes--changes that helped to create the modern university we know today. Most significantly, the study of the sciences and the humanities effectively dissolved the Protestant framework of learning by introducing a new secularized curriculum. This secularization has long been recognized as a decisive turning point in the history of American education. Until now, however, there has been remarkably little attention paid to the details of how this transformation came about. Here, at last, Jon Roberts and James Turner identify the forces and explain the events that reformed the college curriculum during this era.

The first section of the book examines how the study of science became detached from theological considerations. Previously, one of the primary pursuits of "natural scientists" was to achieve an understanding of the workings of the divine in earthly events. During the late nineteenth century, however, scientists reduced the scope of their inquiries to subjects that could be isolated, measured, and studied objectively. In pursuit of "scientific truth," they were drawn away from the larger "truths" that they had once sought. On a related path, social scientists began to pursue the study of human society more scientifically, attempting to generalize principles of behavior from empirically observed events.

The second section describes the revolution that occurred in the humanities, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, when the study of humanities was largely the study of Greek and Latin. By 1900, however, the humanities were much more broadly construed, including such previously unstudied subjects as literature, philosophy, history, and art history. The "triumph of the humanities" represented a significant change in attitudes about what constituted academic knowledge and, therefore, what should be a part of the college curriculum.

"The Sacred and the Secular University" rewrites the history of higher education in the United States. It will interest all readers who are concerned about American universities and about how the content of a "college education" has changed over the course of the last century.

" Jon Roberts and James Turner's] thoroughly researched and carefully argued presentations invite readers to revisit stereotypical generalizations and to rethink the premises developed in the late nineteenth century that underlie the modern university. At the least, their arguments challenge crude versions of the secularization thesis as applied to higher education."--From the foreword by William G. Bowen and Harold T. Shapiro