Description
Book SynopsisChronicles the history of evangelicalism - its origins and development as well as its diversity and contradictions. Within this lineage Balmer explores the social varieties and political implications of evangelicalism's inception as well as its present and paradoxical relationship with American culture and politics.
Trade ReviewAs a self-acknowledged sympathizer with classical Evangelicalism, Balmer laments its fading into a mere shadow of its founding idealism. His choice of final essay indicates that he holds little hope for the future of a religion that uses political power as its main form of self-identity in a land founded on religious freedom. -- Steve A. Wiggins -- Reading Religion
A quick primer for how Evangelicalism became what it is today. -- Steve A. Wiggins -- Reading Religion
For directors of parish discussion groups, professors teaching undergraduates about American religion looking for an accessible text, or pastors appointed to an ecumenical commission, I'd run out and buy this book. -- Mark Massa, SJ -- Theological Studies
A vital contribution to the study of a movement which itself has made such a vital contribution to the very soul of the United States. -- Joe Super -- Fides Et Historia
Balmer writes in clear, engaging prose, providing lively and concise portraits of movements and individuals from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. -- Bradley J. Longfield -- Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology
An entertaining and provocative book by a senior scholar of American evangelicalism. -- Glenn R. Kreider -- Bibliotheca Sacra
Table of ContentsPreface: Defining American Evangelicalism Chapter 1. An Altogether Conservative Spirit: The First Amendment, Political Stability, and Evangelical Vitality Chapter 2. Turning West: American Evangelicalism and the Restorationist Tradition Chapter 3. Casting Aside the Ballast of History and Tradition: Protestants and the Bible in the Nineteenth Century Chapter 4. An End to Unjust Inequality in the World: The Radical Tradition of Progressive Evangelicalism Chapter 5. Thy Kingdom Come: The Argot of Apocalypticism in American Culture Chapter 6. A Pentecost of Politics: Evangelicals and Public Discourse Chapter 7. A Loftier Position: American Evangelicalism and the Ideal of Femininity Chapter 8. Re-create the Nation: The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth Chapter 9. His Own Received Him Not: Jimmy Carter, the Religious Right, and the 1980 Presidential Election Chapter 10. Keep the Faith and Go the Distance: Promise Keepers, Feminism, and the World of Sports Chapter 11. Dead Stones: The Future of American Protestantism Notes Credits About the Author Index
