Description
Book SynopsisChronicles the rise and fall of the Seven Sisters of American Protestantism, documenting the ways in which they stopped shaping American culture and began to be shaped by it
Trade Review"there is much to appreciate in this book. It provides a useful, concise history of the American Mainline. [] Mainline Christianity provides a thoughtful, reasoned, and focused overview of this fascinating segment of American religious life." * Review of Religious Research *
"Lantzer of Butler University sees a new mainline emerging from ashes of the old...showing extensive historiographical knowledge and drawing upon manuscript collections, court records, and personal interviews." -- Justus D. Doenecke * Anglican and Episcopal History *
"While in some circles, the very premise of Christianity being 'mainline' in any form in the twenty-first-century America is hotly contested, Lantzer wants to retain and redefine the term." -- Dwight Zscheile * Lutheran Quarterly *
""Providesa wide-ranging survey and trenchant critique of the history ofmainline Christianityin America. Lantzer's cautionary tale of the mainline's declineoffers a stimulatingintroduction tothese denominations--Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, and others--which remain the church home for tens of millions of American Christians." -- Thomas S. Kidd,Baylor University, author of God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution
"[] [T]he book is a valuable resource. Lantzers redefinition of mainline and reorientation of the declension narrative are worth this books publication and the readers attention." * Church History *
"Recommended for lower-division undergraduates and above [as well as] general readers." * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1 The Genesis of the Mainline 2 Building the New Jerusalem: The High Tide of the Seven Sisters 3 A Mighty Fortress in Decline 4 The Politics of Decline 5 In a State of Perpetual Decline 6 Unto the Ends of the Earth: Global Christianity and Mainline Decline 7 The Emergence of a New Mainline Notes Index About the Author
