 | Religion Enters the Academy: The Origins of the Scholarly Study of Religion in America Subjects: Religion -- Study and teaching -- United States -- History -- 19th century; Religions -- Study and teaching -- United States -- History -- 19th century; Religious studies--also known as comparative religion or history of religions--emerged as a field of study in colleges and universities on both sides of the Atlantic during the late nineteenth century. In Europe, as previous historians have demonstrated, the discipline grew from long-established traditions of university-based philological scholarship. But in the United States, James Turner argues, religious studies developed outside the academy. JAMES TURNER is Cavanaugh Professor of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of seven other books including The Liberal Education of Charles Eliot Norton and The Sacred and the Secular University . |
