A welcome addition to the ongoing reflection on the meaning of religion in America. The authors are both responsible as scholars and accessible as writers. Teachers, students, clergy, and laity will find this book worthwhile. It deserves a wide reading." -- Ronald A. Wells, Professor of History, Calvin College; editor, Fides et Historia "This is a most welcome update of the first textbook survey of American church history. The American Church Experience retains all the virtues of the original--brevity, clarity, and evenhandedness--while incorporating recent historical developments and contemporary historical scholarship." --Michael S. Hamilton, Associate Professor of History, Seattle Pacific University "Specialists and general readers alike should welcome this valuable new resource in American religious history. I certainly plan to recommend it to my students." --Garth M. Rosell, Professor of Church History and Director of the Ockenga Institute at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary "Captures the ebb and flow of religious history in a scholarly and precise way while retaining a highly readable quality. Students will be challenged and laypeople will be informed about America's fascinating religious heritage. This book is a must for the pastor's study and for the church library." --Ruth A. Tucker, author of From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions "Tom Askew and Dick Pierard provide a lively and succinct account of the origins, expansion, and struggles of the faith in America. Their analyses are enhanced by commendable balance and a healthy global perspective. This volume will prove to be an excellent resource for church study groups as well as for undergraduate and seminary classes." --James A. Patterson, Professor of Christian Studies, Union University
In this hard-hitting book, Richard V. Pierard examines the growing affinity between evangelical Christianity and political and economic conservatism that was occurring in the 1960s, and eloquently appeals for a dissolution of these unwarranted ties. The Christian faith stresses love for one's neighbor, selflessness, humility, and peacemaking, virtues which are at variance with the practices of the right. Pierard's critique of the linkage of Christianity with American nationalism, militarism, and capitalism is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago. By bringing this unfortunate situation into the open, he hopes to encourage evangelical leaders to break this unequal yoke and unleash the spiritual forces of American evangelicalism for meaningful participation in the growth of world Christianity.
Tells the history of Christianity, detailing how a movement of faith that originated in an obscure part of the Roman Empire mushroomed in size and spread until its spiritual power was felt throughout the world.
In this hard-hitting book, Richard V. Pierard examines the growing affinity between evangelical Christianity and political and economic conservatism that was occurring in the 1960s, and eloquently appeals for a dissolution of these unwarranted ties. The Christian faith stresses love for one's neighbor, selflessness, humility, and peacemaking, virtues which are at variance with the practices of the right. Pierard's critique of the linkage of Christianity with American nationalism, militarism, and capitalism is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago. By bringing this unfortunate situation into the open, he hopes to encourage evangelical leaders to break this unequal yoke and unleash the spiritual forces of American evangelicalism for meaningful participation in the growth of world Christianity.
How did the American church begin, and how did it evolve to meet changing needs? This readable survey traces the story of Christianity in America beginning with the first settlers, who came to the New World seeking religious freedom. The book then proceeds to the founding of the United States, the Revolution, the Civil War, and finally the tumultuous decades of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Along the way, the authors show that Christians have played a pivotal role in every significant social movement in America, from the abolition of slavery to the push for civil rights. They also discuss current topics such as pluralism, church-state separation, and the role of minorities in American churches.
Most forms of religion are best understood in the con- text of their relationship with the surrounding culture. This may be particularly true in the United States. Certainly immigrant Catholicism became Americanized; mainstream Protestantism accommodated itself to the modern world; and Reform Judaism is at home in American society. In Evangelicalism, Richard Kyle explores paradoxical adjustments and transformations in the relationship between conservative Protestant Evangelicalism and contemporary American culture. Evangelicals have resisted many aspects of the modern world, but Kyle focuses on what he considers their romance with popular culture. Kyle sees this as an Americanized Christianity rather than a Christian America, but the two are so intertwined that it is difficult to discern the difference between them. Instead, in what has become a vicious self-serving cycle, Evangelicals have baptized and sanctified secular culture in order to be considered culturally relevant, thus increasing their numbers and success within abundantly populous and populist-driven American society. In doing so, Evangelicalism has become a middle-class movement, one that dominates America's culture, and unabashedly populist. Many Evangelicals view America as God's chosen nation, thus sanctifying American culture, consumerism, and middle-class values. Kyle believes Evangelicals have served themselves well in consciously and deliberately adjusting their faith to popular culture. Yet he also thinks Evangelicals may have compromised themselves and their future in the process, so heavily borrowing from the popular culture that in many respects the Evangelical subculture has become secularism with a light gilding of Christianity. If so, he asks, can Evangelicalism survive its own popularity and reaffirm its religious origins, or will it assimilate and be absorbed into what was once known as the Great American Melting Pot of religions and cultures? Will the Gospel of the American dream ultimately engulf and destroy the Gospel of Evangelical success in America? This thoughtful and thought-provoking volume will interest anyone concerned with the modern-day success of the Evangelical movement in America and the aspirations and fate of its faithful.
A balanced examination of the historical, theological, and cultural issues raised by the coming new millennium is presented in an illustrated, user-friendly format.
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