American Church History
Paper 2 will focus primarily upon American Church History
Paper Requirements:
1.Write a 1,250-word research paper. Be sure to write the total word count at the end of the paper. Please note: the words in the cover sheet, footnotes, and bibliography are not counted in the total world count.
2.The paper must be double spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font, and 1-inch margins on all sides. Include a separate cover sheet.
3.Use 6 scholarly sources. Your textbook does count. See the information below for more information on those sources.
4.Use current Turabian reference style, either footnotes or in-text (parenthetical) notes. Place your bibliography as the last page.
Choose 1 of the following to write on:
1.The First Great Awakening: This will cover the beginning of Evangelicalism. The two most important leaders were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. Your paper will include the following:
•Biographies of both men.
•Discussions of their contributions.
•Comparing and contrasting their contributions and styles.
•A short discussion of some of the other leaders who played a lesser role.
•A description of Evangelicalism and an explanation of how Evangelicalism began during the First Great Awakening. (Think about it this way: What was unique about the First Great Awakening, and how did that contribute to the idea of Evangelicalism?)
2.The Second Great Awakening: Your paper will include the following:
•A description of the camp meetings (starting with the Cane Ridge Revival): How did they get started and, if you had attended one, what would it have looked like?
•Discussion of Charles Finney and his contributions.
•An answer to this question: Why did the Baptists and Methodists greatly increase during the 2GA? (Note: In 1776, Baptists and Methodists made up 19.4% of Christians in America; in 1850, they comprised 54.7%. From Mark Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada [Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992], 153.)
•Discussion of the rise of Utopian Communities (which came out of the 2GA): Over 100 existed in the 1800s, and only two exist today: the Shakers have 2 members (as of 2018) and the Mormons have around 15 million.
3.The Rise of Fundamentalism (late 1800s and early 1900s): This will include the Christian reaction to Darwinism and other scientific theories, the rise of higher criticism of the Bible, the Social Gospel, The Fundamentals (a 12-volume set of essays), and the Scopes Trial and its ramifications, plus other aspects that are important from your study.
Documentation: Please remember that this is a research paper. Since you are using other sources, citations are required whenever necessary. Please do not assume that simply listing sources in the bibliography is adequate. (It isn’t!)
Sources: Your paper must utilize a minimum of 6 scholarly sources. You are welcome to use more.
•You are welcome to use your textbook as a source; however, do not rely on it as your primary source.
•Use Liberty’s “Religion & Philosophy Research Guide” (available at http://libguides.liberty.edu/content.php?pid=543410) as your first choice for finding scholarly articles; however, you may find sources elsewhere. Google Scholar and JSTOR are great places to search. Some excellent books also may be found at sites like https://archive.org.
•Bible dictionaries or specialty encyclopedias (like Elwell’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology) may be used as scholarly articles for this assignment; however, you may use a maximum of four scholarly websites or specialty dictionaries or encyclopedias. You must use at least 2 scholarly journal articles and/or books. There are many options available through the library database and other online sources. You never need to purchase books (other than your textbook) for any assignment in this course.
•The requirement for six scholarly sources means six different sources. It is fine to use multiple articles from the same specialty website, journal, book, dictionary, encyclopedia or other resources; however, only one of them counts toward your minimum of five scholarly sources. (For example, you may use two articles from a work like Elwell’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, and if you do, they must be listed separately in your citations; however, that still is considered only one source toward the minimum number of six.
•Book reviews are not considered scholarly sources for any assignment in this course.
•Do not use an abstract from a larger work. An abstract is a summary of a work and is not considered a “scholarly” source for the purposes of any assignment in this course.
•General websites (like Wikipedia, ReligionFacts, Theopedia, ask.com, gotquestions.org, blogs, or similar sources) are not acceptable sources for any assignment in this course. Also, as a rule of thumb, avoid articles that do not list an author.
•You always are encouraged to use your Bible on papers for this course, but the Bible is not counted as one of the six minimum sources.
•If you have a question about whether a source is acceptable, contact your instructor. Be sure to give me all the publication information about the source, however.
Use of Direct Quotations: There are times when direct quotes from your sources may be appropriate. If you use direct quotes, please note the following expectations:
•You must either (a) enclose the quote in quotation marks, OR (b) format the quote as a block quote. This requirement is never optional, regardless of the source.
•You must also include a footnote. This is true even if you identify the source in the text.
•Finally, do not include long quotes (or too many quotes) from your sources. If you do, your content score may be reduced. Use quotations only when needed to support your argument. At least 85% of the paper should be in your own words.
