Church History: The Protestant Traditions

This book will employ historical archaeological evidence to broadly examine the forces that fed the Second Great Awakening and how a range of communities responded to the activist religious fervor of the time.

During the early 18th century, New England witnessed the end of Puritanism and the emergence of a revivalist movement that culminated in the evangelical awakenings of the 1740s. This text shows how New Englanders abandoned their hostility towards Britain, instead viewing it as the chosen leader in the fight against Catholicism.

The story of the "conflict thesis" between science and religion--the notion of perennial conflict or warfare between the two--is part of our modern self-understanding. As the story goes, John William Draper (1811-1882) and Andrew Dickson White (1832-1918) constructed dramatic narratives in the nineteenth century that cast religion as the relentless enemy of scientific progress. And yet, despite its resilience in popular culture, historians today have largely debunked the conflict thesis. Unravelling its origins, James Ungureanu argues that Draper and White actually hoped their narratives would preserve religious belief. For them, science was ultimately a scapegoat for a much larger and more important argument dating back to the Protestant Reformation, where one theological tradition was pitted against another--a more progressive, liberal, and diffusive Christianity against a more traditional, conservative, and orthodox Christianity. By the mid-nineteenth century, narratives of conflict between "science and religion" were largely deployed between contending theological schools of thought. However, these narratives were later appropriated by secularists, freethinkers, and atheists as weapons against all religion. By revisiting its origins, development, and popularization, Ungureanu ultimately reveals that the "conflict thesis" was just one of the many unintended consequences of the Protestant Reformation.

"A stenographic transcription of lectures delivered during the Spring term, 1953"

Protestant Empire is the first comprehensive history of the dramatic clash of peoples and beliefs that emerged in the diverse religious world in the British Atlantic, including England, Scotland, Ireland, parts of North and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

For 350 years, Protestantism was the dominant religion in America - and its influence spilled over in many directions into the wider culture. Religious historian Martin E. Marty looks at the factors behind both the long period of Protestant ascendancy in America and the comparatively recent diffusion and diminution of its authority.

This timely and fascinating historical study of Protestant women will increase the appreciation of their continuing struggle for acceptance within their churches and of their contribution to the success of the Protestant movement. An introductory chapter traces the origins of female subordination and exclusion from the preaching ministry, a practice that was reinforced by Protestant interpretations of Scripture. In essays contributed by recognized specialists, women's roles both in the early development of Protestant sects and in supporting established churches are examined, and their contributions--through teaching, charitable activities, donations, writing, speech making and publishing--are noted. This volume includes an account of Protestant women's involvement in reform movements and their prolonged struggle for ordination and acceptance in the preaching ministry.