American Christianity: The Continuing Revolution

by Stephen Cox

Overview

This wide-ranging study examines the ever-evolving forms of Christianity in the US, and why this constant reinvention is a vital part of American faith.
 
Christianity takes an astonishing variety of forms in America: from traditional chapels to modern megachurches, from evangelical fellowships to social-action groups, and from Pentecostal faith to apocalyptic movements. Stephen Cox argues that radical and unpredictable change is one of the few dependable features of Christianity in America. It is in a necessary and ongoing state of revolution and has been throughout our history.
 
Cox explores how both Catholic and Protestant churches have evolved in ways that would make them seem alien to their past adherents. He traces the rise of uniquely American movements, from the Mormons to the Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and brings to life the vivid personalities—Aimee Semple McPherson, Billy Sunday, and many others—who have taken the gospel to the masses.
 
Cox also sheds new light on such issues as American Christians’ constantly changing political involvements, their controversial revisions in the style and substance of worship, and their chronic expectation that God is about to intervene conclusively in human life. Asserting that “a church that doesn’t promise new beginnings can never prosper in America,” Cox demonstrates that American Christianity must be seen not as a sociological phenomenon but as the ever-changing story of individual seekers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292758612
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	02/24/2022
Series:	Discovering America
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	270
File size:	20 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Stephen Cox is Professor of Literature and Director of the Humanities Program at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of many books, including The New Testament and Literature and The Big House: Image and Reality of the American Prison.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Ruins or Foundations?

Chapter 2. Finding Oil

Chapter 3. The Mainstream and the Cataracts

Chapter 4. The Making of Revival

Chapter 5. Stars That Rise and Set

Chapter 6. The Low Wall of Separation

Chapter 7. Millions Now Living Will Never Die

Chapter 8. Hierarchies and Revolutions

Chapter 9. Sermons in Stone

Chapter 10. The Mortal Word

Chapter 11. Unfinished Cathedrals

What People are Saying About This

Paul A. Cantor

"In this wide-ranging, well-written, and often witty book, Stephen Cox tells the tale of Christianity in America as a distinctively American phenomenon, and that means as a manifestation of freedom. Cox stresses the spontaneity and sheer unpredictability of religious developments in America. Refusing to explain religious phenomena in terms of non-religious causes, Cox looks at concrete examples of Christian movements and their leadership, and tries to understand them as they understood themselves. The result is an absorbing narrative, rich in anecdotal detail and enlivened by Cox’s feel for both the sublime and the ridiculous —all told in a supple and engaging prose. This book is cultural history at its best— an analysis that never deals with theoretical abstractions but instead focuses on the individual actors and actions that stand at the heart of all human history."

author of The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture Paul A. Cantor

"In this wide-ranging, well-written, and often witty book, Stephen Cox tells the tale of Christianity in America as a distinctively American phenomenon, and that means as a manifestation of freedom. Cox stresses the spontaneity and sheer unpredictability of religious developments in America. Refusing to explain religious phenomena in terms of non-religious causes, Cox looks at concrete examples of Christian movements and their leadership, and tries to understand them as they understood themselves. The result is an absorbing narrative, rich in anecdotal detail and enlivened by Cox’s feel for both the sublime and the ridiculous —all told in a supple and engaging prose. This book is cultural history at its best— an analysis that never deals with theoretical abstractions but instead focuses on the individual actors and actions that stand at the heart of all human history."

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/15/2014
The sociological study of American culture is nothing new, but rarely is it so forthrightly and clinically analyzed as here by Cox (literature, Univ. of California, San Diego; The New Testament and Literature) in his objective look at what impacts religious affiliations among the American people. Cox's candid demeanor invites the reader into the discussion. He proposes that religion is an anomaly, free from quantifications by socioeconomic trends and statistical analysis. Yet the impetus for religion is hugely present in the American people whether looked at from a historical, social, or even business standpoint. Cox explores all these views and more, looking at past trends in American religion and the current marketplace for American churches, providing a comprehensive social study of the way Christian Americans have worshipped and will do so in the future. VERDICT This all-encompassing look at the nature of American Christian religious practice eschews theological debate in favor of historical examination. Both religious and sociological scholars will be impressed with the thoroughness of Cox's research, and lay readers will be drawn in by his open, conversational writing. A fascinating, pleasurable read for anyone interested in religion, social science, or both.—Kathleen Dupré, Edmond, OK

Library Journal

"American Christianity is an engaging book, wide ranging and well informed. In touch with the living reality of America’s diverse traditions and with the surprising ways in which they have developed.

McCormick Messenger

"“American Christianity is an engaging book, wide ranging and well informed. In touch with the living reality of America’s diverse traditions and with the surprising ways in which they have developed.”"

McCormick Messenger - Bob Edmonds

2014-03-04
An optimistic, nonpolemical snapshot of the plethora of Christian denominations in America. "Something strange always happens" in American churches, Cox (Literature and Humanities/Univ. of California, San Diego; Changing and Remaining: A History of All Saints' Church, San Diego, 2011, etc.) writes in this broad yet colloquial study. Churches want to harken back to the past, in tradition or orthodoxy, but continually strain toward revolution and renewal—hence the vitality of both the still-unfinished largest cathedral in the world, St. John the Divine in New York City, and one of most humble structures, the Taylor Prayer Chapel, in Farmersburg, Ind., a tiny church that is also modeled after a medieval cathedral. Both churches marvelously offer "a place where Christian experience can happen." This is the spirit that Cox traces throughout his work, as messy and disorganized as it may be: Since the breakdown of the state church system in the 18th century, adherence to a church has grown from 17 percent in 1776 to 62 percent in 1980, with the gains going less to mainline Protestant denominations (Episcopal, Methodist) and more to smaller, evangelical sects like Pentecostals, Southern Baptists and "born-again believers." Socioeconomic factors can only go so deep, writes the author—e.g., explaining the huge growth of black churches after the Civil War or the devastating effects of the Depression. Cox sees the religious landscape of America inhabited by a rich history of eccentrics, inspired by the revolutionary words of Scripture, who "found oil" among legions of believers. "The wall of separation" between church and state as identified by Thomas Jefferson did not, however, keep churches from assuming a political mantle, as evidenced in their important lobbying for abolition, women's equality and prohibition. An uncomplicated, evenhanded work. From hymns to architecture to personalities, American Christianity is simply "unpredictable."

Kirkus Reviews