Church History

• STH TH 701: History of Christianity
  A survey of the history of Christianity starting with the second century Mediterranean world, with particular attention to the role of women in the Christian movement and the encounters between Christianity and other religions. Moving through Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages and the European Reformations, including the emergence of Wesleyanism, the survey traces early transatlantic history, following the development of Christianity in colonial Latin America up to the liberationist movements of the late twentieth century and the emergence of other branches of Christianity.
• STH TH 803: History of Social Christianity
  The course examines the historical development of social Christianity, focusing on primary source texts that have contributed to our understanding of Christian social action today. Exploring a range of Protestant, Catholic, and ecumenical sources, the class traces the historical-theological development of social Christianity from the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. The course investigates how the historical development of social Christianity contributes to contemporary conversations on economic justice, racism, human rights, environmental justice, and world peace. While focused primarily on sources from the United States, the class engages wider resources, such as the global ecumenical movement.
• STH TH 812: The Church in Late Antiquity
  The development of the Christian Church, its institutions, theology, and social and political roles, from Constantine to Charlemagne, in the context of the transformations of late antique culture and society, East and West. COUNTS AS A MDIV CHURCH HISTORY II CORE REQUIREMENT. (Requires TF 701 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 817: Varieties of Ancient Christianity
  Surveys the many different and often competing forms of Christianity that arose and flourished in the second to the seventh century. Topics covered include martyrs, apocalypticism, Hell, Gnostics, prophecy, magical texts, angels and demons, and the various meanings of Christ.(Cluster 1) (Fulfills New Testament II requirement for MDiv students). Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Historical Consciousness
  • Social Inquiry I
• STH TH 819: American Theological Liberalism
  American Theological Liberalism provides an overview into the historical and theological development of liberal theology in the United States. Through reading a variety of primary and secondary sources, the course is designed to provide students an historical and theological overview into the development of liberalism and assess the ongoing significance of theological liberalism in church and society today. (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 820: Spirituality in Historical Perspective
  An introduction to the historical study of Western Christian spiritual practices. The course exposes students to the historical-critical study of spiritual practices through careful examination of selected narratives of Western Christian spirituality, primary texts, and participatory observation. Participants will learn to analyze spiritual practices--such as reading, fasting, and prayer--by the twofold process of "abstracting/isolating" practices and "reading/interpreting" them in their historical context. While emphasis will be placed on the synchronic interpretation of practices, due attention will also be given to their development over time. Readings will include selected articles representative of current methodology in the field. Participants will gain a better understanding of continuity and change of spiritual practices in Western Christian traditions. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 821: History and Doctrine of United Methodism
  An exploration of Methodist origins, the Wesleys, the rise of Methodism in England, and the distinctive doctrines of Wesleyan theology. There is a particular focus on the development of the various United Methodist traditions in America and their impact on society. The course is designed to meet one of the requirements for membership in a UMC Annual Conference. (Free Elective Only)
• STH TH 825: The Medieval Church
  Social, personal, institutional, and theological aspects of Christianity in the West from the ninth century to the fourteenth. Topics include monasticism, the papacy, crusades, sacramental life, women's religious life, scholasticism and the universities, mysticism, preaching, and heresy. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 826: The Reformations
  Survey of social, personal, institutional, and theological aspects of reform and renewal in the late medieval and early modern periods, including Nominalism, Conciliarism, the papacy, Luther, the German and Swiss Reformations, Anabaptism and radical reformers, Calvin, the French Reformation, the English Reformation, Catholic Reform, Ignatius and Theresa, and the Council of Trent. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 827: American Church History
  The development of American Christianity as a social, intellectual, institutional, and cultural movement. The course includes visits to churches in Boston. COUNTS AS A MDIV CHURCH HISTORY II CORE REQUIREMENT. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 834: SEM CHR LOVE
  HIST BIB INTRPT
• STH TH 840: 16th Century Carmelites
  16TH C CARMELIT
• STH TH 847: Global Christianity
  The course is an overview of the changing status of global Christianity in the 20th and 21st centuries. It covers the whole world with lectures comparing the global context of 1910 and 2010, including each of the major Christian traditions. Each tradition (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, etc.) will be covered in-class by a scholar self-identifying with that tradition. The course takes a regional approach to analyze specific and local changes in Christianity and their connection to the global movement. This course additionally focuses on the history of Christian mission in relation to global Christianity and encourages students to self-theologize concerning their role and place within the world Christian movement. (Clusters 2 and 3)
• STH TH 848: World Christianity
  Historical development of world Christianity. Emphasis on social, cultural, spiritual, and political issues in African, Asian and Latin American Christianity in the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)
• 圣
• STH TH 859: The Social Gospel in American Religion
  This course examines the impact of the social gospel movement on American religious history. Focused primarily upon historical and theological developments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the social gospel's emphasis on what contemporaries called "social salvation" had a major impact upon wider developments in Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism. The course will explore important leaders and movements associated with the social gospel, as well as examine how this tradition influenced a range of religious-based social movements that extend into the 21st century. Please note that this course cannot be used to satisfy the Church History II requirement for School of Theology masters-level students. (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 869: Religious History of Boston
  The Greater Boston area contains one of the richest historical legacies in the United States. This course examines distinctive aspects of that historical legacy, by focusing upon the religious history of Boston. The course will include selected visits to specific Boston area historical sites. (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TH 902: Christianity Beyond Early Modern Europe
  The course is dedicated to an in depth study of the reach of Christianity in the early modern period (c. 1450-c.1650). Our narrative follows the path of early modern Catholicism from fifteenth-century Europe, through the ascent of the Portuguese and Spanish seaborne empires, and examines the role of the missionary religious orders in the processes of Christianization and inculturation.
• STH TH 915: Radical Christian Spiritualities (DMin)
  'Radical Christian Spiritualities' offers an in-depth discussion of a variety of forms of radical Christian spirituality. It takes a historical approach to the study of eight modern expressions of radical Christian spirituality and relates them to the notion of transformative leadership. The aim of the course is to equip students with methodological tools for the historical examination and appropriation of spiritual practices. Its narrative parallels the diachronic development of global Christianity from the sixteenth to the opening decades of the twenty-first century
• STH TH 920: History of American Theological Liberalism
  American Theological Liberalism is a doctoral-level seminar that provides an overview into the historical and theological development of liberal theology in the United States. Through reading a variety of primary and secondary sources, the course is designed to provide students an historical and theological overview into the development of liberalism and assess the ongoing significance of theological liberalism in church and society today.