American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving
Brand: University of Chicago Press
Categories: Books, Christian Books & Bibles, Ministry & Evangelism



Dimensions: 9.02 x 6.08 x 0.73 inches
ISBN-13: 978-0226764191
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0226764192
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Print length: 324 pages
Publication date: October 16, 1998
subtitle: Paperback – October 16, 1998
author: Visit Amazon's Christian Smith Page search results Christian Smith Michael Emerson Sally Gallagher Paul Kennedy David Sikkink
review: Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Review American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving by sociologist Christian Smith tells a very different story about evangelicals from the one most people believe. Most of us know that evangelical churches are growing fast. Many pundits have suggested that evangelicalism is thriving because it's an easy way out of dealing with the complexities of the modern world--it's a place where everyone is pretty much the same: not too well educated, not too upwardly mobile, and more or less frightened of the amorality that's supposedly flourishing in contemporary America. Yet Christian Smith's study, based on thousands of interviews and extensive polling, argues that evangelicalism is growing "very much because of and not in spite of its confrontation with modern pluralism." He disproves the demographic caricature of evangelicals that's been drawn by conventional wisdom, showing evangelicals to be better educated than most of those calling themselves religious liberals, and establishing that their moral concerns are mostly exercised on behalf of others--most evangelicals don't believe they or their families are really threatened by modern life. Therefore, Smith's study proposes that American evangelicals have created a subculture characterized by "both high tension and high integration into mainstream society simultaneously." And as a result, "Contemporary pluralism creates a situation in which evangelicals can perpetually maintain but never resolve their struggle with the non-evangelical world." It's a fascinating idea, and one that should prompt readers to wonder whether evangelicals actually enjoy playing a divinized version of devil's advocate in contemporary American life. --Michael Joseph Gross From Library Journal Smith (sociology, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) has given us an excellent study of evangelicalism, "which enjoys a religious vitalityAmeasured sociologicallyAthat surpasses every other major Christian tradition in the country." He shows that this is so "whether gauged by belief, orthodoxy, salience of faith, robustness of belief, church attendance, participation in social and religious mission, or membership recruitment and retention." The work is filled with statistics from a carefully researched national survey and valuable quotes from follow-up interviews. Smith also develops a subcultural identity theory to show that "religions can survive and thrive in pluralistic, modern society." He contends that "evangelicalism flourishes on difference, engagement, tension, conflict and threat." Evangelicals will find the book helpful in understanding themselves, their differences, history, and expectations. Academicians, politicians, and others will find that it unravels confusing ideas current in the field. Recommended for larger public libraries and academic libraries.AGeorge Westerlund, Providence P.L. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Christian Smith is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Sociology, director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society, and director of the Center for Social Research at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers and Moral, Believing Animals: Human Personhood and Culture . Read more