The story of Christianity in America is a fascinating one, marked by constant change, development, and innovation. The faith has shaped the country, even as the country has shaped it. Award-winning historian Mark Granquist has written an up-to-date telling of this story from the arrival of Europeans to the present day. While the twists and turns are complex, varied, and at times confusing, Granquist has identified several consistent threads that weave their way through the various branches...

In the five hundred years since the publication of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, a rich set of traditions have grown up around that action and the subsequent events of the Reformation. This up-to-date dictionary by leading theologians and church historians covers Luther's life and thought, key figures of his time, and the various traditions he continues to influence.Prominent scholars of the history of Lutheran traditions have brought together experts in church history...

On the 500th anniversary of Luther’s theses, a landmark history of the revolutionary faith that shaped the modern world."Ryrie writes that his aim 'is to persuade you that we cannot understand the modern age without understanding the dynamic history of Protestant Christianity.' To which I reply: Mission accomplished."–Jon Meacham, author of American Lion and Thomas JeffersonFive hundred years ago a stubborn German m...

In this timely, carefully reasoned social history of the United States, the New York Times bestselling author of Religious Literacy and God Is Not One places today’s heated culture wars within the context of a centuries-long struggle of right versus left and religious versus secular to reveal how, ultimately, liberals always win.Though they may seem to be dividing the country irreparably, today’s heated cultural and political battles betw...

“People who take God seriously will not remain silent about their faith. They will often disagree about doctrine or policy, but they won’t be quiet. They can’t be. They’ll act on what they believe, sometimes at the cost of their reputations and careers. Obviously the common good demands a respect for other people with different beliefs and a willingness to compromise whenever possible. But for Catholics, the common good can never mean muting themselves in public debate on foundational issu...

"[A] compelling study of the most essential breakthrough of modernity: the right to believe, or not, as one wishes. A great book about a monumental issue." —Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning authorSacred Liberty offers a dramatic, sweeping survey of how America built a unique model of religious freedom, perhaps the nation's "greatest invention." Steven Waldman, the bestselling author of Founding Faith, shows how early ideas about religious libert...

A comprehensive look at the Christian religion.From the roots of Catholicism and the three streams of Protestantism to Fundamentalism, Evangelicalism, the Charismatic movement, and “New Age” Christianity, this essential source helps readers define what Christianity is all about in the 21st century.In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get:• Simple explanations of the geographical and cultural factors that divide the Christian faith.

A best-selling text thoroughly updated, including new chapters on the last 30 years"An excellent study that will help historians appreciate the importance of Christianity in the history of the United States and Canada." – The Journal of American History"Scholars and general readers alike will gain unique insights into the multifaceted character of Christianity in its New World environment. Nothing short of brilliant." – Harry S. Stout, Yale University"A new standard...

Tracing the rise of evangelicalism and the decline of mainline Protestantism in American religious and cultural lifeHow did American Christianity become synonymous with conservative white evangelicalism? This sweeping work by a leading historian of modern America traces the rise of the evangelical movement and the decline of mainline Protestantism’s influence on American life. In Christianity’s American Fate, David Hollinger shows how the Protestant establ...

"Quite ambitious, tracing religion in the United States from European colonization up to the 21st century.... The writing is strong throughout."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "One can hardly do better than Religion in American Life.... A good read, especially for the uninitiated. The initiated might also read it for its felicity of narrative and the moments of illumination that fine scholars can inject even into stories we have all heard before. Read it."--Churc...

The delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention blocked the establishment of Christianity as a national religion. But they could not keep religion out of American politics. From the election of 1800, when Federalist clergymen charged that deist Thomas Jefferson was unfit to lead a "Christian nation," to today, when some Democrats want to embrace the so-called Religious Left in order to compete with the Republicans and the Religious Right, religion has always been part of American polit...

In Blasphemy: How the Religious Right is Hijacking the Declaration of Independence, author Alan Dershowitz proves that no relation exists between the Declaration of Independence’s “Creator" and “Nature’s God,” on the one hand, and the Judeo-Christian God of the Old and New Testaments, on the other hand. Learn about the religious right’s goal to Christianize America by using the Declaration of Independence and arguing that this document proves that the United States was founded on Biblical ...