American Catholicism: The History of the Catholic Church in the U.S. and the Lives of America’s Great Catholics

We highly recommend this course to all history lovers.

Explore the extraordinary history of Catholicism in America from the discovery of the New World to our current age. Your guide, Professor R. Scott Appleby of the University of Notre Dame, is an amazingly erudite teacher and one of the leading historians of American Catholic history.

Through this compelling audio series, you will gain insight into the courage and faith of American Catholics through the ages. Explore stories spanning from the establishment of the Church in America to the growth of the early Christian communities. Follow the waves of Irish, German, Italian, Polish, and other immigrants, and discover how each group made extraordinary contributions to American history. Often seen as outsiders, how did Catholics come to live out their faith publicly and privately?

Professor Appleby analyzes the major Catholic debates and controversies, including the Americanist and Modernist crises and the more recent disputes over the meaning of Vatican II. You’ll come to experience the rich texture of parish life during the heyday of “immigrant Catholicism.” Encounter towering figures such as Archbishop John Carroll, Cardinal Gibbons, and Dorothy Day.

In short, these 24 talks form an invaluable and fascinating journey through the triumphs, burdens, achievements, and continuing struggles of the Catholic Church on American shores. Don’t miss this series.

This course was previously published as The Story of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States

Learn about downloadable programs.

Your Free Electronic Study Guide! When you order this course, we will send you a free electronic study guide that you can access in 3 convenient ways:

1) You can check your order confirmation email. It will include a link that enables you to download your guide.
2) The back of your program package also contains a copy of this link. You can access your guide by simply entering this URL into your browser.
3) Your case of CDs or DVDs will contain a copy of your electronic guide on CD. Simply insert this disc into your computer’s CD/DVD drive to access your guide.