A Fiery Gospel: Scope

Scope of the Project

A Fiery Gospel: Religion in the Civil War Era proposes to fill the need for a comprehensive teaching site for students wishing to study the role of religious belief, religious practice, and religious institutions and individuals from the Antebellum period to the close of Reconstruction. The increasing interest in the role of religion in American History, generally, and in the Civil War, in particular, support development of such a web site.

The site will include annotated links to several major categories including Primary Sources, Images, Biographies, Denominations, Organizations, and Book Reviews. An interpretive essay will be provided for each of these categories discussing recent scholarship in the field. In addition, the site will contain a compilation of Lesson Plans for teaching about religion in the antebellum period, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. The site will also contain a Timeline, Links to Additional Sources, and an e-mail feature so that educators may submit lesson plans and learning activities on topics related to religion in the Civil War period.

The primary audience for this site is intended to be teachers and students at the secondary level although some information will certainly be useful to undergraduate college students. The site might also find acceptance among Civil War re-enactors, especially those involved in portraying civil war chaplains or members of the U.S. Christian Commission. Also, students of religion and religious history will certainly find the information interesting if not useful.

The target audience can be reached via several large Civil War gateway sites such as The U.S. Civil War Center. These sites publish and maintain links to other sites related to the Civil War on the web. Listing A Fiery Gospel: Religion in the Civil War on such frequently visited sites will help to ensure that the target audience – teachers and students – learn about the site and use it in the classroom.

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