DAVID RALPH
BAINS
Department of Religion
(205) 726-2879, fax (205) 726-2535
email: drbains@samford.edu
CURRENT
POSITION
Associate Professor of Religion,
EDUCATION
Dissertation: "The Liturgical Impulse in
Mid-Twentieth-Century Mainline American Protestantism," advisers: David D.
Hall and William R. Hutchison
Fields: Comparative Religion; History of
Christianity; American Religious History; Christian Worship in North America
Majors: Religious Studies and Physics
ARTICLES
"Contemporary Worship: Trends and Patterns
in Christian America." In Faith
in
"Sacred Space: Shaping Samford's Campus." Seasons 22 (Winter 2005): 22-25.
"Conduits of Faith: Reinhold Niebuhr's Liturgical Thought." Church History 73 (March 2004): 168-194.
"History
of the
"James G. Keller," "George Alexander
McGuire," and "Charles Taze
Russell." In American National Biography.
"Liturgical Revival in Methodism: The Order of St. Luke in the 1950s." The New Mercersburg Review 23 (spring 1998): 62-72.
"Liturgical Change in a Presbyterian Cathedral: East
Liberty Presbyterian Church,
WORKS IN
PROGRESS
The Liturgical Impulse in Twentieth-Century American Protestantism.
Historical
examination of Protestant interest in and understanding of liturgical and
sacramental worship. Traces movements to
reform worship from the 1910s to the 1990s.
Expansion of dissertation.
Religious
Capital: The "National" Churches of
Examines
the creation, symbolism and ministries of churches and offices created by
religious bodies to represent them in the symbolic landscape, political
processes, and daily life of the nation's capital. Sabbatical Project for spring 2007.
PRESENTATIONS
"A National Cathedral? Protestants' Reception of
"A Presbyterian 'Cathedral'? Congregational Space and Civic Space in the History of the National
Presbyterian Church." To be presented at Building Spiritual Washington: Seventh Biennial Symposium on the Historic
Development of Metropolitan Washington, DC. The
Latrobe Chapter, Society of Architectural Historians,
"A Capital
Presence: The Presbyterian Quest for a "
"'National'
Churches in a Denominational Society:
Building National Methodist and
"Campus as
Sacred Space: Origins and Cultural Meanings Samford's Colonial Revival
Campus." Faculty Shop-Talk,
"Public
Religion, Shaping Past and Present
"Conduits of Faith: Reinhold Niebuhr on Liturgy." Annual meeting of the North American Academy of Liturgy, January 2003.
"Author meets Critics" presentation: The Churches of Christ in the Twentieth Century: Homer Hailey's Personal Journey of Faith, by David Edwin Harrell, Jr. Southeast American Religious History Discussion Group, November 2001.
"Conduits of
Faith: Reinhold Niebuhr on Liturgy and the Church." Faculty workshop on religion,
"Walking
Tour of
"Exhibiting
the Church: Twentieth-Century Protestant Gothic Monuments in the
"Tradition,
Church, and Changes in Protestant Appreciation of Liturgy: The Order of St.
Luke in the
"Struggling
to Unite the Church and the World:
"Turning
Outward: Mainline Protestant Approaches to Campus Ministry,
1950-1970." Lilly Research Group
Conference,
BOOK REVIEWS
Before Scopes:
Evangelicalism, Education, and Evolution, by Charles
A. Israel, Journal of the
Religion, Education and the American Experience: Reflections on Religion and American Public Life, edited by Edith L. Blumhofer. H-AmRel@h-net.msu.edu discussion list. July 2003. http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/.
The Visual Culture of American Religions, edited by David Morgan and Sally M. Promey. Religious Studies Review 29 (April 2003): 207-208.
Christianity in Appalachia, edited by Bill L. Leonard. Religious Studies Review 29 (April 2003): 207.
Aspiration:
The Stone Carvers: Master Craftsmen of
"Schism and Faithfulness in the Churches of Christ." Review of The Churches of Christ in the Twentieth Century: Homer Hailey's Personal Journey of Faith, by David Edwin Harrell, Jr. H-AmRel@h-net.msu.edu discussion list. June 2000. http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/.
Financing American Religion, edited by Mark Chaves and Sharon L. Miller. Religious Studies Review 26 (July 2000): 298.
Dictionary of Heresy Trials in American Christianity, edited by George H. Shriver. Church History 67 (September 1998): 598-599.
FELLOWSHIPS
& GRANTS
"Teaching
for
Assisted
in planning proposal.
Faculty Development Grant, Samford University, 2003-2004.
Institutional
Renewal Grant,
Dissertation Fellowship, Louisville Institute, 1998-1999.
Mellon
Dissertation Research Fellowship,
Lilly Endowment Fellowship, Harvard University, 1993-1995.
HONORS
Phi Beta Kappa, Beta of Virginia chapter, 1992.
Echols Scholar, University of Virginia, 1989-1993.
MAJOR
WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS ATTENDED
"The
Transformation of Christian Worship: Recent History of Protestant and Catholic
Practices (1960-2000)." Calvin
Seminars in Christian Scholarship,
"Teaching
Theology Through Music." Notre Dame
Institute for Church Life and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in
Theology and Religion, Syracuse, Ind., May 23 to June 4, 2004.
"Teaching the New
American Religious History."
Material History of American Religion Project.
TEACHING
EXPERIENCE
Department of Religion,
Associate Professor, 2005 to
present.
Assistant Professor, 1999 to 2005.
Sacred Space
American Religious History
Religion and American Culture, 1945-1970 (topic for Relg 371, sophomore majors seminar, fall 2003)
Liberalism, Fundamentalism and Protestant Culture (topic for Relg 371, sophomore-level religion majors' seminar, 2004-2005, spring 2006)
History of Christianity
Monarchs,
Bishops, and Martyrs: The English Reformation (travel course, taught in
Contemporary Theology
Christian Worship: History & Theology
Theology, Congregational Song, and Christian Community (co-taught with Paul A. Richardson)
Introduction to World Religions
Ritual and Myths in World Religions
Biblical Perspectives (introduction to the bible required of all undergraduates)
Committee
on the Study of Religion,
Tutorial
Instructor, spring 1996, fall 1997 to spring 1998.
Designed
and taught small seminars to third-year undergraduates.
The Religious Cultures of
African American Christianity and Music
Community and Identity in Modern Religious Movements
Teaching Fellow,
spring 1996, spring 1997-spring 1998.
Assisted
in designing and teaching lecture courses.
Religion in Multi-Cultural
Religion in
Lived Religion in
Ritual and the Religious Life (Prof. Lawrence E. Sullivan)
Christian Bible and Its Interpretation (Prof. Peter J. Gomes)
UNIVERSITY
SERVICE
Acting Co-chair, Department of Religion, fall 2006.
Faculty Senate, Dec. 2004 to present.
"Exploring Catholicism" 8-week student cadre, University Ministries, fall 2006.
"The University and Christianity" 8-week student cadre, University Ministries, fall 2005.
Search committees, Departments of Religion and Philosophy, 1999 to 2006.
Chair, Howard College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee, 2004-05; member, 2002 to 2005.
Convenor,
Faculty Discussion Groups. Rhodes
Consultation on the Future of the
Acting Chair, Department of Religion, summer 2002.
Assistant Chair, Department of Religion, 2001-02.
Consultant, Theological Exploration of Vocation Grant Application Committee, spring 2002.
Member, Theological Exploration of Vocation Planning Grant Application Committee, fall 2001.
PRESENTATIONS
TO COMMUNITY GROUPS
On World Religions
Catholic Students' Association, Birmingham (September 2006); Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence (May 2006); Student Ministries, Samford University (March 2004); State Farm Insurance, Alabama-Mississippi Regional Office, (August 2003); Our Lady of Sorrows School (May 2003); Unitarian-Universalist Church of Birmingham (December 2002); Alabama Gas Corporation, Selma office (September 2002); South Points Association for Exploring Religion (August 2002); Alabama Gas Corporation, State Diversity Council (March 2002); Riverchase United Methodist Church (December 2001); Trinity United Methodist Church (October 2001); Cathedral Church of the Advent (Episcopal) (December 2000).
On Islam
Brookwood
Baptist Church (May 2006, February 2006); Core Curriculum faculty workshop,
Samford University (September 2005); P.E.O. Sisterhood (August 2005); St.
Luke's Episcopal Church (April 2005); Catholic Students' Association,
University of Alabama at Birmingham (February 2005); St. Luke's Episcopal
Church (October 2003); Trinity United Methodist Church (November 2002); Mt.
On Christian Worship
Catholic Students'
Association,
On Religious Architecture
On American Religious History
Alabama Company,
Jamestowne Society (May 2006); New Horizons at
PROFESSIONAL
AFFILIATIONS
American Society of Church History
Historical Society of the Episcopal Church