AAR-HCS

Mission
The mission of the History of Christianity section is to deepen and broaden the study of the Christian past by presenting innovative and engaging research on the history, culture, and development of Christianity from its origins to the present, while at the same time promoting interdisciplinary dialogue among the fields of history, ritual studies, art history, anthropology, and historical theology. The section has a strong commitment to providing a showcase for the work of both younger and established scholars in the field.
Source: HCS self-review, 2001

History
In 1909, the National Association of Biblical Instructors (NABI) was founded by four professors of religion who were interested in creating space for scholarly and pedagogical reflection on religious traditions. Since most of the first members were teaching within the Christian tradition, theological reflection was at the core of the annual meeting program.

In 1963, the American Academy of Religion was formed as the successor organization to NABI with the mission of studying and teaching "all aspects of religion." By 1969, ten permanent sections had been established for the Annual Meeting. As the Annual Meeting Program reported, "Many members also hold membership in other societies representing specific disciplines. . . . The establishment of permanent sections of the Academy, devoted to specific fields, disciplines, or subjects within the study of religion, is intended to strengthen the Academy's role as a meeting place." The History of Christianity section was one of the ten programming units created at this time. Four History of Christianity sessions were presented in this first annual meeting with permanent programming sections, with topics ranging from "Church and Culture, High Middle Ages to Renaissance" to "Afro-American Christianity."

With the reorganizing of the annual meeting in 1973, other Units, e.g., groups and seminars, were formed which offered new outlets for the richness of scholarship on the Christian tradition, with the History of Christianity section continuing to provide the opportunity for examining developments that extended beyond particular chronological, regional, or thematic focus. The change in the Annual Meeting structure also enabled broader participation in the shaping of the programs, with section Steering Committee members now involved in the selection of papers for presentation. In the early 1980s, each of the section's five sessions was treated as a single unit, with papers generally 30 or more minutes in length. From 1987 forward, papers were shortened to 15-20 minutes and sessions were often subdivided in order to allow more scholars to participate and a greater variety of topics to be covered in an annual meeting.

Currently the History of Christianity section seeks "to present innovative and engaging research on the history, culture, and development of Christianity from its origins to the present, while at the same time promoting interdisciplinary dialogue among the fields of history, ritual studies, art history, anthropology, and historical theology" (2001 Self-study). As one of the largest program sections, the History of Christianity enables the presentation of current research on a wide variety of topics, organized in coherent panels, often in collaboration with other units.
Source: HCS annual report, 2003

last updated 3 years ago # fine print   nathan rein 2006