Interesting news from the annual survey by the American Historical Association, via Tom Heneghan at Reuters' FaithWorld blog:

Religion has become the hottest topic of study for U. S. historians, overtaking the previous favourite cultural studies and pulling ahead of womens studies in the latest annual survey by the American Historical Association. Younger historians are more likely than older ones to turn their sights on faith issues.The proportion of U.S. historians working on religious issues now stands at 7.7%. If that seems low, compare it with the more traditional fields in the study of the past political history (4.6%), military history (3.8%) or diplomatic history (3.8%). Cultural studies stood at 7.5% and womens studies at 6.4%.

Tom's tip of the hat to the Immanent Frame notes a reaction roundup at that august site, including this provocative observation from David A. Hollinger at Berkeley: "Religion is too important to be left in the hands of people who believe in it. Finally, historians are coming to grips with this simple truth.