Research Triangle Park, N.C.  Durham County Library, in collaboration with the National Humanities Center, presents a series of eleven lecture-discussions entitled Divining America: Religion in American History. This new humanities series explores many of the religious movements and watersheds in American history from the 17th through the 20th centuries. The series opens with a panel discussion about the history of religion in Durham on Sunday, September 14 at 3:00 p.m. at the Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

Divining America features scholars from Duke University, Duke Divinity School, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Elon University, who will encourage participants to learn, to think, and to discuss religion from a historical perspective. All events in the series are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.durhamcountylibrary.org or call 919-560-0268.

From private prayer to communal worship in churches, synagogues, and mosques, religion in all its forms is inexorably linked with the history of America. Since before Europeans' interactions with Native Americans in the 17th century through the explosion of religious diversity in recent years, religious beliefs and practices have shaped American culture, politics, and the ways in which Americans relate to one another. Divining America will chart the course of religion in American history, providing historical perspective on issues like the separation of church and state, religious freedom, and the intersection of religion and politics, all of which remain topics of vital importance in present-day America.

"Examining religion through the lens of history has the potential to spark great conversation," said Marian Fragola, humanities coordinator at the Durham County Library. "Everyone who attends the Divining America discussions will have an opportunity to engage with outstanding scholars and think about how events of the past resonate today."

"The National Humanities Center is excited to be working with the Durham County Library on this series," said Richard Schramm, vice president for education programs at the Center. "This is an excellent opportunity for citizens in our community to learn more about the ways religion has contributed to the formation of our national identity."

The series was inspired by TeacherServe®, a project of the National Humanities Center. TeacherServe is a web-based resource for teachers that provides essays by leading scholars in the areas of religion in American history, the environment in American history, and African-American literature and history. TeacherServe and other online resources from the Center can be accessed at nationalhumanitiescenter.org.

Funding for the Divining America series was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Durham Library Foundation. Additional marketing support was provided by the National Humanities Center and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).

Durham County Library provides the entire community with books, services and other resources that inform, inspire learning, cultivate understanding and excite the imagination. For more information, visit www.durhamcountylibrary.org.

History of Religion in Durham
Sunday, September 14, 2008
3:00 PM
Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

This panel discussion, moderated by historian and News & Observer columnist Jim Wise, will focus on how Durham's religious institutions have changed over time and trends for the future. Panelists: R. Kelly Bryant, Charles Cooper, Rev. Joe Harvard, Len Rogoff and Yonat Shimron.

17th and 18th Centuries

Deism and the Founding of America
Thursday, September 25, 2008
7:00 PM
Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

Deism, the concept that a supreme god created the physical universe but does not interfere with it, was a belief that became prominent in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Ben Franklin once described himself as a "thorough deist." Brendan Pietsch, Ph.D. candidate at Duke University, will discuss the rise and decline of Deism's popularity and its impact on American values.

Puritanism and Dissent in Early America
Thursday, October 2, 2008
7:00 PM
Southwest Branch, 3605 Shannon Rd.

H. L. Mencken once described Puritanism as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." Throughout its history, America has been described as having "puritan" attitudes towards everything from alcohol to sexual behavior. Curtis Freeman, Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School, will discuss what the Puritans of early America really believed, as well as the beliefs of the people that dissented from the precisionist demands of Puritanism.

Native American Religion in Early America
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
7:00 PM
North Regional Branch, 221 Milton Rd.

Native people maintained a sense of harmony and balance with plants, animals, and natural forces such as wind and rain. Clara Sue Kidwell, Director of the American Indian Center at UNC, will discuss Native American religions as cosmological systems that ordered Native life and how that order changed as a result of European contact.

19th Century

Mormonism, Polygamy, and the Limits of Religious Freedom
Monday, October 13, 2008
7:00 PM
East Regional Branch, 211 Lick Creek Ln.

Mormon polygamy sparked fierce controversy in 19th-century America. John-Charles Duffy, William N. Reynolds Fellow at UNC, will discuss how that controversy helped define the legal limits of religious freedom in the U.S., and how it continues to resonate today.

African-American Religion from Emancipation to Jim Crow
Thursday, October 23, 2008
7:00 PM
Stanford L. Warren Branch, 1201 Fayetteville St.

African-American religion in the latter part of the 19th century was characterized by rapid change. Matt Harper, McColl Fellow at UNC's Center for the Study of the American South, will discuss African-American churches and communities in North Carolina after emancipation.

"The Almighty has His own purposes": Religion in the American Civil War
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
7:00 PM
Stanford L. Warren Branch, 1201 Fayetteville St.

In his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln used religious language and imagery to describe the bitter war between the Union and the Confederacy. Men and women on both sides, he explained, "read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other." Charles Irons, Assistant Professor of History at Elon University, will discuss religious Americans' competing visions of war and emancipation.

20th Century

The Scopes Trial
Thursday, November 6, 2008
7:00 PM
North Regional Branch, 221 Milton Rd.

The Scopes Trial of 1925 (often called the "Scopes Monkey Trial") seemed to pit traditional religious values against secular science, with evolution in classrooms at the heart of the maelstrom. Michael Lienesch, Professor of Political Science at UNC, will discuss how the Scopes Trial became synonymous with a debate that continues today—the intersection of religion and science and how the two are handled in educational settings.

The Rise of Fundamentalism
Thursday, November 13, 2008
7:00 PM
East Regional Branch, 211 Lick Creek Ln.

"Fundamentalism" is a term that is frequently used, but rarely properly understood. Dr. Grant Wacker, Professor of Christian History at Duke University, will discuss the Fundamentalists of the 20th century and how historic Fundamentalism, largely forged before World War I, helped to produce the massive evangelical, pentecostal, and charismatic revivals after World War II.

Religious Freedom, the Supreme Court, and the Needs of Special Children
Sunday, November 16, 2008
3:00 PM
Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

Where does religious freedom end and state sponsorship of religion begin? The U.S. Supreme Court confronted this question in the Kiryas Joel court case, which involved a Jewish group known as the Satmar Hasidim. In 1994, the Court ruled on the constitutionality of New York State's law creating a separate school district which served only Hasidic children who required special education. Jonathan Boyarin, Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Thought at UNC, will discuss the Kiryas Joel court case and its implications for ideas of identity and rights.

Intersection of Religion and Politics in the 20th Century
Thursday, November 20, 2008
7:00 PM
Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

Religion has been front and center in the 2008 election, but the interaction of religion and politics is nothing new. Seth Dowland, lecturing fellow at Duke University, will discuss how religion influenced politics—and vice versa—at various points throughout the 20th century.