Course Resources Archive

The second part of the module continues the story of the Church with the protests and separations which marked the Reformation and prepared the way for the Enlightenment. From there, students will be taken through a period of challenging developments for the Church all the way to the twentieth century. Such issues as the rise of modern science, humanism, modern theology and revivalism will be studied in the context of growing nationalism, religious strife following the disintegration of medieval Christendom and western colonial expansion.

Throughout the module, among issues covered, students will be encouraged to consider the cross-cultural influences of contemporary political, intellectual and religious debates upon the development and spread of Christianity worldwide.

i. Knowledge and understanding

On successful completion of the module the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the nature and development of Christianity, historically and theologically, from the time of the early church to the early twentieth century.
• Display an in-depth understanding of the theological, philosophical and cultural issues that relate to the history of the Christian church from the early church to the early twentieth century.
• Apply their understanding of the Church from its beginnings till the early twentieth century to present day contexts.
• Demonstrate an ability to analyse the content and function of the Church’s creeds and doctrinal statements from its beginnings till the early twentieth century in their historical settings.
• Apply appropriate historical methods in interpreting primary and secondary sources which relate to the Church from its beginnings till the early twentieth century.
• Evaluate the reliability and relevance of a variety of forms of historical narrative.
• Reflect on how the study of Church History can relate to contemporary Christian faith and practice.

ii. Skills

On successful completion of the module the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate skills in analysis, reflection, synthesis and evaluation of selected texts and materials studied on the module.
• Demonstrate applied skills in written argument and expression, problem solving, independent work and collaborative development via e-learning.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.