Asbury Teological Seminary ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange Syllabi Advocacy on US Government Foreign Assistance 2012 Varieties of American Evangelicalism Evangelical Advocacy: A Response to Global Poverty Follow this and additional works at: htp://place.asburyseminary.edu/advocacysyllabi Recommended Citation Evangelical Advocacy: A Response to Global Poverty, "Varieties of American Evangelicalism" (2012). Syllabi. Book 11. htp://place.asburyseminary.edu/advocacysyllabi/11 Tis Document is brought to you for free and open access by the Advocacy on US Government Foreign Assistance at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Syllabi by an authorized administrator of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. For more information, please contact For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 Varieties of American Evangelicalism Course Syllabus Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture 2004 Robert E. Brown Course Overview Evangelical Protestantism has played a vital role in shaping American history, culture and religion. It is estimated that some 25-35% of the American population (c. 70-100 million) today identifies with this movement. Far from being a monolithic entity, however, the religious, ideological, and social allegiances of evangelicalism are quite diverse. In addition, evangelicals maintain a somewhat paradoxical relationship with American society, functioning simultaneously as a politically powerful interest group (insiders) and as cultural antagonists (outsiders). This course is designed to introduce students to the history of evangelicalism, its characteristic religious patterns, and its ongoing negotiations with contemporary American culture. Structure The syllabus is designed to provide a broad coverage of issues important to understanding evangelicalism, while providing flexibility to shape the course according to the teacher’s interests and priorities. Twenty topics are included, making it possible to rotate subjects in and out of the course as desired. The instructor may choose to devote anywhere from one lecture to several weeks of class time to any one topic, depending on his or her own interests and judgment of its importance. It is envisioned here as an upper level undergraduate course, and thus is probably best taught in a seminar style, with a significant component of reading and discussion. Table of Contents Electronic Resources 3 Media Resources 3 Journals and Periodicals 4 1 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 Course Schedule One: What is Evangelicalism? 5 Two: Evangelicals in America – Historical Overview 6 Three: Contemporary Evangelicalism 7 Four: The Restoration, Holiness, and Pentecostal Movements 8 Five: Fundamentalism and Neo-Evangelicalism 10 Six: The Great Revivalists 11 Seven: Narrating Religious Experience 12 Eight: Evangelical Spirituality 13 Nine: Evangelicals and (Intellectual) Modernity 14 Ten: The “Culture Wars” 16 Eleven: Politics and Law 19 Twelve: The Challenge of Diversity 20 Thirteen: Gender Roles 22 Fourteen: Social Reform and Missions 23 Fifteen: Millenarian Apocalyptic 25 Sixteen: Evangelical “Aberrations” in New Religious Movements 27 Seventeen: Exploiting Technology 28 Eighteen: Popular Literature 29 Nineteen: Shaping American Music 30 Twenty: Evangelical Culture on Screen 32 Extended Bibliography 33 2 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 Electronic Resources *Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals (wheaton.edu/isae) [see especially their web links] *American Religion Data Archive (arda.tm) *CrossSearch.com (crosssearch.com) [directory of evangelical websites] *Billy Graham Center (wheaton.edu/bgc) *Adherents.com (adherents.com) [religion statistics] *Hartford Institute of Religion Research (hartsem.edu) [megachurches] *Christians in the Visual Arts (civa.org) *ModernReformation.org *Next-Wave.org (postevangelicalism) *theooze.com (postevangelicalism) *emergentvillage.com (postevangelicalism) Media Resources *Apocalypse: the Puzzle of Revelation (Insight Media,1995) *The Road to Rapture (Insight Media,1999) *Endwatch: Deciphering the Codes of Apocalypticism (Insight Media,1995) *The Televangelists (Insight Media, 1997) *The Songs Are Free: Bernice Johnson Reagon and African-American Music (FHS) *Too Close to Heaven: the History of Gospel Music (FHS) *The Heaven’s Gate Cult: the Thin Line between Faith and Reason (FHS) *Children of Jehovah (FHS) *Religious Fundamentalism (FHS) *God’s Rock: Building a Business [contemporary Christian music] (FHS) *Religion and the Media (FHS) *Salvation: the Army in the Streets (FHS) *Bill Moyers, Amazing Grace [the hymn] (PBS) *Crusade: the Life of Billy Graham (PBS) *Frontline: Apocalypse! (PBS) *American Experience: Jubilee Singers – Sacrifice and Glory (PBS) *American Experience: The Monkey Trial (PBS) *American Experience: John Brown’s Holy War (PBS) *Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: a Journey into the Evangelical Subculture (PBS) *This Far by Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys (PBS) *With God on Our Side: the Rise of the Religious Right in America (PBS, 1996) *The Messengers (Pt. 1 & 2) [high school preaching competition] (Nightline, 6/03) *Politics and Religion [evangelical support for Israel] (Nightline, 11/02) *Promisekeepers (Nightline, 10/97) *Christian Coalition (Nightline, 10/97) *The Fight Over Religion in Our Schools (Nightline, 6/97) *Heaven’s Gate; Inside Heaven’s Gate (Nightline, 3/97) *Isaiah 58:12: the Passage, the Preachers, and the Politician (Nightline, 3/97) *In God We Trust [Pledge of Allegiance] (Nightline, 7/02) 3 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 *Evolution and Creationism in the Schools (Nightline, 7/00) *Religion in Politics (Nightline, 2/00) *Missionaries (Prime Time Live, 5/01) *Tongues [glossalalia] (PTL, 10/00) *Who Will Save the Children? [Followers of Christ sect in Oregon] (20/20, 8/99) *The Brethren [“garbage eating” NRM] (20/20, 4/99) *Praying Off the Pounds (20/20, 11/98) *Countdown to Salvation [Florida revival] (20/20, 6/98) *God’s Laws, America’s Laws [ten cc’s] (20/20, 10/97) *Billy Graham’s Crusade (20/20, 5/97) *Jerry Jenkins [Left Behind author] (Nightline Up Close, 8/02) *In Search of America (#4): God’s Country (ABC News, 9/02) *Evangelicals and Apocalypse (Left Behind): 60 Minutes, 2/8/04 Journals and Periodicals Fides et Historia Christian Scholars Review Books and Culture: a Christian Review Image: a Journal of the Arts and Religion Christianity Today Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Moody Monthly Evangelical Studies Bulletin Christian History Magazine Journal of Presbyterian History Leadership Journal Faith and Philosophy Evangelical Review of Theology Sojourners Mark Fackler and Charles Lippy, eds., Popular Religious Magazines of the United States Charles Lippy, ed., Religious Periodicals of the United States: Academic and Scholarly Journals 4 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 Course Schedule Topic 1: What is Evangelicalism? – Core Theological and Institutional Identities An opportunity to discuss definitional issues and problems, structures of belief and practice, as well as identify denominational affiliations, national associations, educational and research institutions, parachurch organizations, and publishing centers. Select Bibliography *Robert Krapohl and Charles Lippy, The Evangelicals: a Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide *Robert Shuster, Researching Modern Evangelicalism: a Guide to the Holdings of the Billy Graham Center, with Information on Other Collections (1990) *Edith Blumhofer and Joel Carpenter, eds., Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism: a Guide to the Sources (1990) *Norris Magnuson and William Travis, eds., American Evangelicalism: an Annotated Bibliography (1990) *Norris Magnuson, American Evangelicalism II: First Bibliographical Supplement, 1990-1996 *Randall Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism *Brenda Brasher, Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism *Timothy Larsen, Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicalism *D.G. Hart, Dictionary of the Presbyterian and Reformed Tradition in America (1999) *Bill Leonard, Dictionary of Baptists in America (1994) *Samuel Hill, Encyclopedia of Religion in the South *Walter Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology *Walter Elwell, ed., Handbook of Evangelical Theologians *D.G. Hart, ed., Reckoning With the Past: Historical Essays on American Evangelicalism (1995) *George Marsden, Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism (1991) *Mark Noll, American Evangelical Chrisitianity: an Introduction *Timothy Phillips, Family of Faith: an Introduction to Evangelical Christianity *David Wells, ed., Reformed Theology in America (1985) *David Harrell, ed., Varieties of Southern Evangelicalism (1981) *Donald Dayton and Robert Johnston, eds., The Variety of American Evangelicalism (1991) *Derek Tidball et al, Who Are the Evangelicals? Tracing the Roots of Today’s Movements (1994) *Cline Calver et al, Who Do Evangelicals Think They Are? (1995) *J.I. Packer and Thomas Oden, One Faith: the Evangelical Consensus (forthcoming) *D.G. Hart, Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham (2003) 5 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 *Mark Chapman, “Identifying Evangelical Organizations: a New Look at an Old Problem,” Studies in Religion/Sciences Religeuses 28 (1999): 307-321 *Donald Dayton, “Some Doubts About the Usefulness of the Category ‘Evangelical,’” in The Variety of American Evangelicalism (1991) *Robert Johnston, “American Evangelicalism: an Extended Family,” in The Variety of American Evangelicalism (1991) *Douglas Sweeney, “The Essential Evangelicalism Dialectic,” Church History 60 (1991): 70-84. *Richard Turnbull, “Evangelicalism: the State of Scholarship and the Question of Identity,” Anvil 16 (1999): 95-106 Topic 2: Evangelicals in America – Historical Overview Intended to provide a broad introduction to the movement, this section might also serve as the historical component of the course, obviating the need for Sections 6 & 7. If so, the bibliographies of those sections can be usefully employed to deepen consideration of the issues discussed here. Select Bibliography *Randall Balmer, Blessed Assurance: a History of Evangelicalism in America *Leonard Sweet, The Evangelical Tradition in America *William McLoughlin, The American Evangelicals, 1800-1900: an Anthology (1968) *Mark Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: the Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys (2004) *John Wolffe, The Expansion of Evangelicalism: the Age of More, Wilberforce, Chalmers, and Finney (forthcoming) *David Bebbington, The Dominance of Evangelicalism: the Age of Spurgeon and Moody (forthcoming) *Geoff Treolar and Stuart Piggin, The Disruption of Evangelicalism: the Age of Mott, Machen, and McPherson (forthcoming) *Brian Stanley, The Global Diffusion of Evangelicalism: the Age of Graham and Stott (forthcoming) *Ted Campbell, The Religion of the Heart: a Study of European Religious Life in th th the 17 and 18 Centuries (1991) *W.R. Ward, The Protestant Evangelical Awakening (1992) *Ernst Stoeffler, The Rise of Evangelical Pietism (1970) *Richard Carwardine, Transatlantic Revivalism: Popular Evangelicalism in Britain and America, 1790-1865 (1978) *Edwin Gaustad, The Great Awakening in New England *Alan Heimert and Perry Miller, The Great Awakening (documents) *Richard Bushman, ed., The Great Awakening: Documents on the Revival of Religion 1740-1745 (1970) *Frank Lambert, Inventing the “Great Awakening” 6 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 *Nathan Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity *John Wigger, Taking Heaven by Storm: Methodism and the Rise of Popular Christianity in America, 1770-1820 (1998) *Mark Noll, The Princeton Theology 1812-1921 (1983) *Douglas Jacobsen, ed., Reforming the Center: American Protestantism from 1900 to the Present *William Hutchison, ed., Between the Times: the Travail of the Protestant Establishment 1900-1960 (1989) *David Watt, Transforming Faith: Explorations of Twentieth-Century American Evangelicalism (1991) *Robert Wuthnow, The Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith Since World War II (1988) Topic 3: Contemporary Evangelicalism – Social and Cultural Landscape A consideration of the demographic makeup of evangelicalism with regard to class, economic patterns, geographical distribution, race, gender, education, political loyalties, and institutional affiliations. Also an opportunity to discuss contemporary religious patterns, such as the megachurch phenomenon, seeker sensitive evangelism, support for electronic media, new educational institutions, and other ways in which evangelicalism has been transformed in the last half century. Select Bibliography *Mark Shibley, Resurgent Evangelicalism in the United States: Mapping Cultural Change Since 1970 (1996) *Erling Jorstad, Popular Religion in America: the Evangelical Voice (1993) *George Marsden, Evangelicalism and Modern America (1984) *Mark Ellingsen, The Evangelical Movement: Growth, Impact, Controversy, Dialogue (1988) *DG Hart, That Old-Time Religion in Modern America: Evangelical Protestantism in the Twentieth Century *James Davidson Hunter, American Evangelicalism: Conservative Religion and the Quandary of Modernity (1983) *James Davidson Hunter, Evangelicalism: the Coming Generation *David Watt, A Transforming Faith: Explorations of Twentieth-Century American Evangelicalism (1991) *Jon Stone, On the Boundaries of American Evangelicalism: the Postwar Evangelical Coalition *Randall Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: a Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America (1989) *Donald Dayton et al, The Variety of American Evangelicalism (1991) *Robert Ellwood, One Way: the Jesus Movement and Its Meaning (1973) 7 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 *Donald Bloesch, The Future of Evangelical Christianity: a Call for Unity Amid Diversity (1983) *Alister McGrath, Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity (1995) *Edwin Orr, Campus Aflame: Dynamic of Student Religious Revolution (1971) *Conrad Cherry et al, Religion on Campus *Martyn Percy, Words, Wonders, and Power: Understanding Contemporary Christian Fundamentalism and Revivalism (1996) *Christian Smith, American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving (Chicago: 1998) *Kimon Sargeant, Seeker Churches: Promoting Traditional Religion in a Nontraditional Way *Bernard Ramm, The Evangelical Heritage (1973) *Donald Bloesch, The Evangelical Renaissance (1973) *Corwin Smidt, Evangelicalism: the Next Generation *Edith Blumhofer and Randall Balmer, eds., Modern Christian Revivals (1993) *David Watt, Transforming Faith: Explorations of Twentieth-Century American Evangelicalism (1991) *Stephen Prothero, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon (2003) *Richard Wightman Fox, Jesus in America: Personal Savior, Cultural Hero, National Obsession (2004) Topic 4: The Restoration, Holiness, and Pentecostal Movements The primitivist impulse is an enduring element in the history of American evangelicalism, providing the impetus for reform and renewal. As often as not this has resulted in idiosyncratic interpretations of “original Christianity,” which have developed into successful mass movements. The three movements considered here have had a notable impact on the direction of American evangelicalism, and one of them (Pentecostalism) has had a profound influence in shaping contemporary world Christianity in developing nations (South America, Africa, and South East Asia). Select Bibliography *Richard Hughes, ed., The American Quest for the Primitive Church *Richard Hughes, Reviving the Ancient Faith: the Story of the Churches of Christ in America *Richard Hughes, ed., The Primitive Church in the Modern World *Michael Casey et al, The Stone-Campbell Movement: an International Religious Movement *Thomas Olbricht et al, The Quest for Christian Unity, Peace, and Purity in Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address *James D. Murch, Christians Only: a History of the Restorationist Movement (1962) *Alexander Campbell, The Christian System (1840) 8 For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution. © Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, 2004 *D. Newell Williams, Barton Stone: a Spiritual Biography *Melvin Dieter, The Holiness Revival in the Nineteenth Century (1996) *William Kostlevy, Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement (2001) *Charles Jones, Perfectionist Persuasion: the Holiness Movement and American Methodism, 1867-1936 (1974) *Donald Dayton, ed., “The Higher Christian Life” (Holiness/Pentecostal) (Garland, 1984, 48 vol.) *Charles Jones, Guide to the Study of the Holiness Movement (1974) *Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States *Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century *Robert Owens, Speak to the Rock: the Azusa Street Revival, Its Roots and Its Message (1998) *Grant Wacker, Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture (2001) *Douglas Jacobsen, Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement (2003) *James Goff and Grant Wacker, Portraits of a Generation: Early Pentecostal Leaders (2002) *Edith Blumhofer, ed., Pentecostal Currents in American Protestantism (1999) *Stanley Burgess and Gary McGee, eds., Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (1988) *Harvey Cox, Fire From Heaven: the Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the st Reshaping of Religion in the 21 Century (1995) *James Goff, Fields White Unto Harvest: Charles F. Parham and the Missionary Origins of Pentecostalism (1988) *Walter Hollenweger, The Pentecostals *Cheryl Sanders, Saints in Exile (African American Pentecostals) *Sherry DuPree, The African-American Holiness Pentecostal Movement: an Annotated Bibliography *Donald Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostalism (1987) *David Martin, Pentecostalism: the World Their Parish *Allan Anderson, ed., Pentecostals After a Century: Global Perspectives on a Movement in Transition *Watson Mills, Glossolalia: a Bibliography (1985) *Charles Jones, A Guide to the Study of the Pentecostal Movement *Charles Jones, The Charismatic Movement: a Guide to the Study of Neo- Pentecostalism with Emphasis on Anglo-American Sources (1995) *Robert Anderson, Vision of the Disinherited: the Making of American Pentecostalism (1979) *Edith Blumhofer, Defending the Faith: the Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism, and American Culture (1993) *Margaret Poloma, Main Street Mystics: the Toronto Blessing and Reviving Pentecostalism (2003) *Stanley Burgess, ed., New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements 9