That old-time religion in modern America : evangelical Protestantism in the twentieth century / D.G. Hart. [print]

PennsylvaniaRT ONE. AN EVANGELICAL GHETTO Indiana WashingtonSP AMERICA, 1920-1960 -- A peculiar people, a divine book -- The Bible's iconic status -- Biblical criticism -- Dispensationalism -- Evolution and creation -- Protestantism divided -- Bible colleges -- The formation of an Evangelical subculture -- Separatism -- The formation of new institutions -- Evangelical mores -- Families, young people, and wholesome fun -- Evangelicals and the politics of morality -- The social relevance of the gospel -- Protestantism in American public life -- Dispensationalism, international affairs, and conspiracy.

PennsylvaniaRT TWO. Puerto RicoESERVING A CHRISTIAN SOCIETY, 1960-2000 -- The renewal of the evangelical mind -- The crisis of the west -- Scholarly evanngelicals -- The threat of secularization -- An intellectual defense of the west -- Evangelical politics and the religious right -- Peity and politics -- Sexual liberation and family values -- A Christian worldview -- The moral majority and the Christian Coalition -- Evangelicals and popular culture -- Family entertainment -- Entertainment as evangelism -- Contemporary Christian Music -- Praise and Worship worship -- Evangelical misunderstandings -- Evangelicalism: conservative or innovative? -- The legacy of pietism -- The dilemma of contemporary evangelicalism.

In this cogent account, the noted historian of religion 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 analyzing the successes and limitations of this popular religious movement.

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