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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 6.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4000 items) |
| Abstract | The Department of Religious Studies was founded as the Department of Religion in 1947. Arnold Nash was appointed its first chair and remained the sole member of the department until 1950, when Bernard H. Boyd was hired as the James Gray Professor of Biblical Literature. The department established a master of arts program in 1978. In 1984, the name of the department was changed to Department of Religious Studies, and, in 1985, a doctoral program was established. In 2000, the Department of Religious Studies assumed responsibility for the John Calvin McNair lectures, which focused on science and human values. In the 1970s, the department began to develop its curriculum in Judaic studies, and, in 2003, was instrumental in the creation of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. Records of the Department of Religious Studies consist of materials related to the administration and operation of the department and to its programs, curricula, and faculty. Included are meeting minutes; departmental newsletters; annual reports; correspondence; budgets and financial materials; course proposals; and curricula vitae, profiles, and other materials related to activities of the faculty. Also included are materials related to lectures, conferences, and colloquia hosted or sponsored by the department. The bulk of these materials pertains to the John Calvin McNair lectures. There are also materials related to the creation of a program in Judaic studies within the department and other items concerning the creation of the Carolina Center for Judaic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. The Addition of October 2013 consists of files of Ruel W. Tyson chiefly related to his activities as a faculty member in the department's religion and culture concentration but also including reports, correspondence, and other materials related to the administration of the department. The Addition of June 2016 consists of annual reports, meeting minutes, newsletters and correspondence relating to the administration of the department. |
| Creator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Department of Religious Studies. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Historical Information
In June 1946, the university's Board of Trustees authorized establishment of a chair of religion, which they stated might lead to a department. That fall, James A. Gray, chair of the board of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, committed $250,000 to endow "religious instruction" at the university. In June 1947, Arnold Nash was appointed chair of the Department of Religion. He was the sole member of the department until 1950, when Bernard H. Boyd was hired as the James Gray Professor of Biblical Literature. For more on the founding and early years of the department and on the philosophies of the men involved, see David L. Weaver-Zercher's article "Visions in Conflict: The Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina, 1947-1960" in The North Carolina Historical Review, October 2007.
The department was part of the College of Arts and Sciences and was under the shared authority of the college's Division of Humanities and Division of Social Sciences. Initially, it offered courses in Biblical history, literature, and languages to upper-level undergraduates. As the department grew, course offerings expanded to include studies of Buddhism, Hinduism, African religions, medieval Christian studies, philosophy and psychology of religion, and the ancient Near East. In 1978, the Department of Religion established a master of arts program, which it had sought to do since its founding. In 1984, the Department of Religion formally changed its name to the Department of Religious Studies, in part to recognize the expanding range of courses and studies offered and in part anticipating the addition of a doctoral program in religious studies in 1985. The department hosted a major symposium in 1998 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding. Titled "Religion and Culture in the 21st Century," the symposium featured a plenary address by American religious historian Martin Marty.
In 2000, the Department of Religious Studies assumed responsibility for the John Calvin McNair lectures, which had been one of the responsibilities of the faculty Established Lectures Committee. Inaugurated in 1906, the lecture series focused on the relationship between science and theology. It attracted negative attention in the early 1980s when an examination of the language in the bequest seemed to indicate that only men were to be considered as speakers. The McNair lectures were discontinued in 2004, after McNair family members objected to the selection of that year's speaker. The remaining lecture funds were transferred to the Presbyterian Church.
The Department of Religious Studies was a member of the Committee for Judaic Studies, a cooperative venture with Duke University that was formalized in December 1972. Following a generous contribution from the Blumenthal Foundation, the original committee was discontinued in 1987 and, over the next few years, reorganized around an undergraduate minor in Jewish studies. Faculty of the Department of Religious Studies also played a significant role in the creation of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies in 2003.
Names and tenures of department chairs in the period covered by the records are listed below. Dates were taken from curricula vitae and departmental correspondence.
| 1972-1973 | Tyson, Ruel W. (Acting) |
| 1975-1980 | Tyson, Ruel W. |
| 1980-1985 | Van Seters, John |
| 1985-1986 | Tyson, Ruel W. (Acting) |
| 1986-1988 | Van Seters, John |
| 1988-1990 | Sanford, James |
| 1990-1995 | Sasson, Jack |
| 1995-2000 | Ernst, Carl |
| 2000-2006 | Ehrman, Bart |
| 2006-2008 | Tweed, Thomas A. |
| 2008-2012 | Maffly-Kipp, Laurie |
| 2012- | Styers, Randall G. |
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Scope and Content
Records of the Department of Religious Studies consist of materials related to the administration and operation of the department and to its programs, curricula, and faculty. Included are meeting minutes; departmental newsletters; annual reports; correspondence; budgets and financial materials; course proposals; and curricula vitae, profiles, and other materials related to activities of the faculty. Also included are materials related to lectures, conferences, and colloquia hosted or sponsored by the department. The bulk of these materials pertains to the John Calvin McNair lectures, for which the department assumed responsibility in 2000. There are also materials related to the creation of a program in Judaic studies within the department and other items concerning the creation of the Carolina Center for Judaic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. The Addition of October 2013 consists of files of Ruel W. Tyson chiefly related to his activities as a faculty member in the department's religion and culture concentration but also including reports, correspondence, and other materials related to the administration of the department. The Addition of June 2016 consists of annual reports, meeting minutes, newsletters and correspondence relating to the administration of the department.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. General Administrative Files, 1967-2007.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Correspondence and other materials related to the administration and operation of the Department of Religious Studies. Included are meeting minutes; correspondence; budgets and financial materials, including information about trust funds, lapsed salary allocations, teaching assistant funding, and instructional costs; and materials related to policy formation and strategic planning. There are also files on the founding of the Bernard Boyd Memorial Prize in Religious Studies and on cooperative ventures involving the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
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Series 2. Lectures, Conferences, and Colloquia, 1977-2007.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Materials related to lectures, conferences, and colloquia that the Department of Religious Studies hosted, sponsored, or attended. The bulk of the materials relates to the John Calvin McNair lectures, for which the department assumed responsibility in 2000, and to the 1998 symposium "Religion and Culture in the 21st Century," sponsored by the department. Included are meeting minutes, letters, correspondence, and programs of the events. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 2.1. John Calvin McNair Lectures, 1982-2004.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to the John Calvin McNair lectures, for which the Department of Religious Studies assumed responsibility in 2000. Files include mostly correspondence among members of the department, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Robert J. Powell Jr., who represented the McNair family in most of its dealings with the university. Also included is a manuscript draft of Powell's Pangs of Conscience: The John Calvin McNair Lectures on Science and Theology. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 2.2. Religion and Culture in the 21st Century Symposium, 1997-1998.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to the planning and organization of the symposium "Religion and Culture in the 21st Century," sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies and held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on 3-4 April 1998. Files include departmental memoranda; budgets; meeting minutes and notes; and correspondence with speakers and presenters, including Martin Marty and other invited special guests. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 2.3. Other Lectures, 1977-2007.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to other lectures and events organized by or involving the Department of Religious Studies, including the "Interpretations of Religion and Culture" symposium, held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on 27-29 March 1980, and the 1997 conference on "Judaism at the Twenty-First Century," sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies, the Program in the Humanities and Human Values, and the Judaic Studies Program at Duke University. Also included are a few items related to graduate student symposia in 1995 and 2000; documents relating to the North Carolina Religious Studies Association conferences, 1994-1997; and items relating to a retreat held at Wildacres Retreat Center in 1999 by faculty of the departments of religious studies at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Emory University. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
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Series 3. Curriculum, 1972-2006.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Meeting minutes, correspondence, and other materials related to curriculum development and teaching in the Department of Religious Studies at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and including the creation of a program in Judaic studies. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 3.1. Graduate Curriculum, 1979-2006.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Mostly meeting minutes and other materials related to the work of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Religious Studies, including items pertaining to the development of a doctoral program in 1985. Also included are items related to the Council on Graduate Studies in Religion, a national body to which the department applied for membership in 1990; graduate admissions data; and items relating to an external review of the department's graduate program, conducted in 1992-1993. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 3.2. Undergraduate Curriculum, 1976-2006.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to the undergraduate curriculum of the Department of Religious Studies. Most relate to course development. Also included are items related to a university-wide program to renumber courses; correspondence with the Division of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, and Office of Honors; a few Undergraduate Studies Committee meeting minutes; and some correspondence relating the department's courses in the Evening College and Summer School. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 3.3. Judaic Studies Program, 1972-2004.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Correspondence, meeting minutes, official reports and miscellaneous documents related to the Committee on Judaic Studies, a joint committee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Also included are program proposals, meeting minutes, correspondence, and other items related to the creation of the Carolina Center for Judaic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
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Box
2
Folder 71-74 Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74 |
Judaic Studies Program, 1972-1979 #40340, Subseries: "3.3. Judaic Studies Program, 1972-2004." Box 2, Folder 71-74 |
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Series 4. Faculty, 1979-2006.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Curricula vitae, profiles, data, and other materials related to the faculty of the Department of Religious Studies. The bulk of the materials relate to the annual faculty profiles submitted by individual faculty members describing their scholarly activities. These reports, collected by the Salary Committee, were used to determine annual raises. Other items include correspondence relating to the establishment of a new position in the Department of Religious Studies in coordination with the First Year Seminar program; letters, proposed courses, and curriculum vitae from Warren Nord, a professor in the Program in the Humanities and Human Values at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, relating to his joint appointment in the department; a survey of university responsibilities and teaching workloads within the department; and items relating to the potential hiring of Mark Taylor for a Kenan Endowed Professorship in 1996-1998. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
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Addition of October 2013, 1981-2003.
Annual reports, correspondence, departmental reviews, meeting minutes, course materials, and other items related to the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Files are those of Ruel W. Tyson, a member of the department's faculty since 1967. Tyson served as acting chair of the department, 1972-1973; as chair, 1975-1980; and again as acting chair, 1985-1986. However, materials are related chiefly to his activities as a faculty member in the department's religion and culture concentration.
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Addition of June 2016: Administrative Files, 1964-186.
Arrangement: Departmental.
Annual reports, departmental newsletters, correspondence, faculty meeting minutes, and other items related to the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Processed by: Martin Gengenbach, October 2010; Jennifer Coggins, June 2016
Encoded by: Martin Gengenbach, October 2010; Gergana Abernathy, June 2016
Finding aid updated in October 2013 by Amanda Loeb because of addition.
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