Blessed Assurance: A History of Evangelicalism in America

by Randall Balmer

A sweeping history of American evangelical movements begins with the Puritans and traces the evolution of this vital religious movement to it's present role in culture, society, and politics. Original.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Randall Herbert Balmer, Ph.D. (Princeton University, 1985), is an ordained Episcopal Priest and historian of American religion, and holds the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College. He also has taught at Barnard College; Columbia, Rutgers, Princeton, Drew, Emory, Yale and Northwestern universities; and at Union Theological Seminary. Balmer was nominated for an Emmy Award for the PBS documentary "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory," based on his book of the same title.

Reviews

[David Ward]

Blessed Assurance: A History of Evangelicalism in America by Randall Balmer (Beacon Press Books 1999) (277.3) provided much more detail than I sought. This is not a casual read. My rating: 2/10, finished 10/3/11.

[Jen]

Great book on the history of evangelicalism in America. Eye-opening for anyone who upholds evangelicalism as the "only truth." Very informative. This is the fourth book of Balmer's I have read, and his historical and sociological analysis of that perspective is spot-on.