Protestantism in America

Columbia Contemporary American Religion

by Randall Balmer, Lauren F. Winner

As America has become more pluralistic, Protestantism, with its long roots in American history and culture, has hardly remained static. This finely crafted portrait of a remarkably complex group of Christian denominations describes Protestantism's history, constituent subgroups and their activities, and the way in which its dialectic with American culture has shaped such facets of the wider society as healthcare, welfare, labor relations, gender roles, and political discourse.

Part I provides an introduction to the religion's essential beliefs, a brief history, and a taxonomy of its primary American varieties. Part II shows the diversity of the tradition with vivid accounts of life and worship in a variety of mainline and evangelical churches. Part III explores the vexed relationship Protestantism maintains with critical social issues, including homosexuality, feminism, and social justice. The appendices include biographical sketches of notable Protestant leaders, a chronology, a glossary, and an annotated list of resources for further study.

Genres: Religion, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2002

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

[Cheryl Beseler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy-to-read summary of the history of Protestantism in America. It takes the reader through both the evanglical past and the mainline Christian past. In the present, it discusses the future of the Protestant church and what it is doing to stay relevant in a time when church attendance has decreased significantly. It does not go into the details but covers those who contributed most to the history. The case studies are interesting reads to compare and contrast the various styles of worship. Several chapters are devoted to the issues that continue to create divisiveness in the church, feminism and homosexuality.