To provide a bulwark against remnants of Hutchinson’s free-grace theology, just two weeks after she was banished the General Court of Massachusetts finally released funds in November 1637 to establish the “College at Newtowne” (renamed Harvard in 1639), Shoemaker said as he stood framed by the John Harvard Statue, thronged by tourists.

Arguing for the former view, charismatic Puritan leader Anne Hutchinson bucked the establishment opinion in Newtowne and was ultimately tried, convicted, and banished for her beliefs. The Puritans had heated debates about the nuances of soteriology, Shoemaker explained, with one group placing a radical emphasis on the idea of grace, the other insisting that good works played a part. Shoemaker explained that not long after Newtowne - later renamed Cambridge - was founded in the 1630s, the fledgling community was divided over the question of how to secure salvation. “Harvard’s History and Evolving Religious Identity” was created and co-taught by Stephen Shoemaker and the Rev. “Harvard might not have ever gotten off the ground if it wasn’t for a religious controversy,” Shoemaker said, standing in the center of the Yard in one of his trademark vests - complete with pocket watch chain. Shoemaker said it is common for his students to be surprised by the significance of religion in the evolution of Harvard, and he believes part of his mission is to raise that awareness.

“I had no idea what a large role religion played in the origins and development of Harvard.” “The class was held in Holden Chapel in the Yard, and it was packed,” said Michael Ledecky ’16, a government concentrator. In spring, the course had a record 90 students. Gomes for many years before Gomes’ death in 2011. A noted lecturer on campus, his signature class is “Harvard’s History and Evolving Religious Identity,” which he created and co-taught with the Rev. The winner of the 2016 Shattuck Excellence in Teaching Award, Shoemaker holds a master’s in theology from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. It prepares you to teach at one university,” he said with a laugh. “But specializing in the details of Harvard’s history is a career-limiting move. “It all began when I wrote my dissertation on the history of religion at Harvard in the 19th century,” said Stephen Shoemaker, a lecturer on the study of religion at Harvard.

The Duel by Stephen Havard