Faith in an Age of Reason: 1648–1789

Join us for a new church history session tracing Christianity from the end of the Thirty Years’ War (1648) to the French Revolution (1789). This long 18th century was a turning point in church history. Emerging from the devastation of religious war, Christians now faced an “Age of Reason” that elevated the importance of human reason and questioned the authority of Scripture. Yet, Enlightenment thought was not uniformly anti-religious. Many Christians adapted its ideas to their own purposes and gave rise to renewal movements like Pietism, Methodism, and the Great Awakening. Their work pushed Christianity toward personal devotion, moral reform, and global mission. The result was a century in which old certainties fractured, new expressions of faith took root, and the foundations of modern Christianity emerged.

*Please note: There will be no class on February 1, but we’ll resume on February 8.