Events

This class will begin by exploring how the Christian community grew from a persecuted minority to being the recognized church of the Roman Empire, and how the church during the Middle Ages preserved civilization and spread the faith. We’ll then learn about reformers and intellectual currents before the Reformation; highlights and significance of the Reformation in Europe and Britain; the church’s absorption of new scientific knowledge; the Enlightenment; American contributions to Christianity and Western Civilization; the French Revolution; social and intellectual challenges in the 19^th century; and modernization of the Roman Catholic Church at Vatican II. We’ll conclude with a look at the distinguishing features of Western Civilization today, which help explain why many people around the world yearn to live in the nations it has shaped. Each Sunday there will be a lecture (and discussion) along with 15-20 pages of optional background reading.