Eerdmans' Handbook to Christianity in America

by Mark A. Noll

Looks at important issues, events, movements, sects, and religious leaders in the history of American Christianity

Genres: Reference, History, Church History, Religion

507 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Mark A. Noll (born 1946), Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, is a progressive evangelical Christian scholar. In 2005, Noll was named by Time Magazine as one of the twenty-five most influential evangelicals in America. Noll is a prolific author and many of his books have earned considerable acclaim within the academic community. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind , a book about the anti-intellectual tendencies within the American evangelical movement, was featured in a cover story in the popular American literary and cultural magazine, Atlantic Monthly. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal in the Oval Office by President George W. Bush in 2006.

Reviews

[Richard Pulfer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative read. It provides a very even-handed view of Christianity's history and impact on America from the country's founding to the early 80's. As you can guess by that last part, it is a bit dated, though it's interesting to see how so little has changed in some cases.

There's a wealth of information here on various individuals who have made their mark on the religion, with plenty of mini-essays on the subject spread throughout. The only thing I didn't like is that the book can be a bit cumbersome to read since these essays do interrupt the main exploration for a fair bit.

Otherwise, though, it's a very well-researched and well-read book on the subject.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative history text on the history of Christianity in America. Well balanced and non ideological. Includes excepts from primary source documents and short biographies of the key players. Written at a high level (perhaps to be used in a college history course). Assumes a fair amount of prior knowledge. It is dated (1983) but except for the blocky maps and poor image quality I find it relevant to today. It is a subject that I don't know that well and I find it very helpful in placing people and events in historical context.

This book took months to read--it is a dry textbook--but I'm glad that I did. I would've liked to have taken a course that used this book as a text. I'm not sure reading it as a stand alone was the right way to try to assimilate all this information and reflect on its objectivity. Would've liked to discuss some things with like-minded and differently-minded folks.

[Read1000books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book about our religious heritage, including the origin of the Sunday School and the Wednesday night prayer meeting.