Many Americans commonly associate evangelical Protestants with the scoldings of the religious right and solicitations of money by televangelists. Whether or not these associations are particularly flattering, it is true that a concern for preserving a moral social order as well as an unrelenting desire to make new converts are traits that have defined evangelicalism throughout American history. In this cogent account, D. G. Hart unpacks evangelicalism’s current reputation by tracing its development over the course of the twentieth century. He shows how evangelicals entered the century as full partners in the Protestant denominations and agencies that molded American cultural and intellectual life. Although the fundamentalist controversy of the 1920s marginalized evangelicals in America’s largest denominations, their views about the individual, society, and families went virtually unchallenged in American society because of the ongoing dominance of Protestant churches and institutions. After 1960, when the United States entered a period sometimes called “post-Protestant,” evangelicals began to assert themselves more aggressively in politics and culture, seeking to preserve a Christian society. These evangelical responses to Protestantism’s waning influence in America reveal a curious feature of twentieth-century life: despite its conformity to American ideals, since the 1970s evangelical Protestantism has been perceived as alien to other Americans. Mr. Hart’s illuminating study offers an explanation for this change in evangelicalism’s fortunes by showing the success and limitations of this popular religious movement.
D. G. Hart is Director for Honors Programs and Faculty Development at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington, Delaware. Among his other books are The University Gets Religion and Defending the Faith.
Table of Contents
Part 1 Acknowledgements ix Part 2 INTRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING EVANGELICALISM 3 Chapter 3 Insiders who feel like outsiders. Revivalism and born-again devotion. Nineteenth-century developments and influence. Contemporary unease. Part 4 PART ONE. AN EVANGELICAL GHETTO IN WASP AMERICA, 1920–1960 Part 5 A PECULIAR PEOPLE, A DIVINE BOOK 25 Chapter 6 The Bible's iconic status. Biblical criticism. Dispensationalism. Evolution and creation. Protestantism divided. Bible colleges. Part 7 THE FORMATION OF AN EVAGELICAL SUBCULTURE 54 Chapter 8 Separatism. The formation of new institutions. Evangelical mores. Families, young people, and wholesome fun. Part 9 EVANGELICALS AND THE POLITICS OF MORALITY 84 Chapter 10 The social relevance of the gospel. Portestantism in American public life. Dispensationalism, international affairs, and conspiracy. Part 11 PART TWO. PRESERVING A CHRISTIAN SOCIETY, 1960–2000 Part 12 THE RENEWAL OF THE EVANGELICAL MIND 115 Chapter 13 The crisis of the West. Scholarly evangelicals. The threat of secularization. An intellectual defense of the West. Part 14 EVANGELICAL POLITICS AND THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT 144 Chapter 15 Piety and politcs. Sexual liberation and family values. A Christian worldview. The Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition. Part 16 EVANGELICALS AND POPULAR CULTURE 172 Chapter 17 Family entertainment. Entertainment as evangelism. Contemporary Christian music. Praie & Worship worship. Part 18 EVANGELICAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS 201 Chapter 19 Evangelicalism: conservative or innovative? The legacy of pietism. The dilemma of contemporary evangelicalism. Part 20 A Note on Sources 223 Part 21 Index 237
Hart packs this standard outline with fascinating detail...[his] analysis is clearly coherent.
MARK NOLL
A mature historical account.... The book is carefully learned, authoritatively balanced, and yet entirely accessible to a wide audience.
DAVID E. HARRELL
Compelling...sweeping in reach, erudite in research, and driven by an admirable appreciation for his subjects. —AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Leo Ribuffo
No one understand the history of evangelicalism better than D. G. Hart, and no one offers a more balanced analysis of the key issues.
Mark Noll
A mature historical account of a subject as rich as it is complex. The book is carefully learned, authoritatively balanced, and yet entirely accessible to a wide audience.
LEO RIBUFFO
No one understands the history of evangelicalism better than D. G. Hart, and no one offers a more balanced analysis...
