The Making of Evangelicalism
From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond
By Randall Balmer
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Subjects: All History, All Religious Studies, Church History, Religion & Politics |
With impressively clear prose and a superb command of history, best-selling author Randall Balmer here offers a spirited history of evangelical Christianity in the United States. Effortlessly situating developments in evangelicalism in their wider historical context, he demonstrates the ways American social and cultural settings influenced the course of the evangelical tradition. By revealing the four key moments in the movement’s history—the transition from Calvinist to Armenian theology in the embrace of revivalism, the shift from post-millennialism, the retreat into a subculture, and the rise of the Religious Right—Balmer masterfully demonstrates how American evangelicalism is truly American and concludes with a manifesto directing where evangelicalism must go from here forward.
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Age of Revivals and the First Amendment
Chapter 2: The Transition from Postmillennialism to Premillennialism
Chapter 3: The Construction of a Subculture
Chapter 4: The Rise of the Religious Right
Conclusion
Suggested Readings
"Seldom has so short a volume produced as much bang as this gem by noted historian and sometime politician Randall Balmer. For those who seek a greater understanding of the peculiar successes of evangelicalism in the American environment there can be no better starting point than The Making of Evangelicalism."
—Harry S. Stout, Jonathan Edwards Professor of American Religious History, Yale University
"Often challenging and at times provocative, The Making of Evangelicalism calls for serious reflection regarding evangelicalism's future. Even those who might disagree with Balmer's interpretations will profit from a serious reading and pondering of this engaging, lucidly written book."
—David S. Dockery, President, Union University
“This is trademark Randall Balmer: he has written in his characteristically elegant prose—not just ‘accessible,’ but lovely—yet he has not sacrificed sophisticated analysis in the name of reaching a broad audience beyond the Ivory Tower."
—Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God, and Mudhouse Sabbath
Randall Balmer is Professor of American Religious History, Barnard College, Columbia University, and Visiting Professor at Yale Divinity School. A prolific and highly esteemed writer, he is the author of Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America; God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush; and Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America. He lives in rural Connecticut.
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