A comprehensive study looks at the Disciples' past, present, and visions for the future, with a wealth of historical, sociological, statistical, and theological information. (pb)

The meaning of the declining membership in mainline Protestant denominations has been hotly contested since the 1960s. Drawing on statistical analysis of membership trends, congregational surveys, individual interviews, research on disaffiliation, and case studies of congregations and presbyteries, this volume examines patterns and causes of congregational growth and decline in the Presbyterian church. Through its examination of American Presbyterianism, the Presbyterian Presence series illuminates patterns of change in mainstream Protestantism and American religious and cultural life in the twentieth century.

The Christian Century and the Rise of the Protestant Mainline offers the first full-length, critical study of The Christian Century, widely regarded as the most influential religious magazine in America for most of the twentieth century and hailed by Time as "Protestantism's most vigorous voice." Elesha Coffman narrates the previously untold story of the magazine, exploring its chronic financial struggles, evolving editorial positions, and often fractious relations among writers, editors, and readers, as well as the central role it played in the rise of mainline Protestantism. Coffman situates this narrative within larger trends in American religion and society. Under the editorship of Charles Clayton Morrison from 1908-1947, the magazine spoke out about many of the most pressing social and political issues of the time, from child labor and women's suffrage to war, racism, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It published such luminaries as Jane Addams, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Martin Luther King Jr. and jostled with the Nation, the New Republic, and Commonweal, as it sought to enlarge its readership and solidify its position as the voice of liberal Protestantism. But by the 1950s, internal strife between liberals and neo-orthodox and the rising challenge of Billy Graham's evangelicalism would shatter the illusion of Protestant consensus. The coalition of highly educated, theologically and politically liberal Protestants associated with the magazine made a strong case for their own status as shepherds of the American soul but failed to attract a popular following that matched their intellectual and cultural clout. Elegantly written and persuasively argued, The Christian Century and the Rise of the Protestant Mainline takes readers inside one of the most important religious magazines of the modern era.

This new second edition, refined, updated and revised, contains the story of those 15 years along with revisions in how a humble gathering evolved over two centuries into the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a modern denomination of international stature. The Disciples: A Struggle for Reformation, Revised Edition discusses how Disciples progressed from congregationalism to Covenant, how they survived the tumult of Civil War, how they developed a ministry of missions on a global scale, and how they met the brutal challenge of 21st century COVID.

Living with Mental Illness in a Globalised World systematically examines the manifold contributions to the burdens of living with mental illness in a developing and globalised world. It explores the stigma of mental illness, the burden of which compares to the symptoms of and is sometimes considered more disabling than the illness itself. The book starts by reviewing the socio-psychological and cultural processes that contribute to stigma and providing evidence-based interventions to combat it. Chapters critically investigate the ideological and instrumental barriers to mental healthcare and establish that determining the conceptualisations of mental illness helps to unravel the reasons for the underutilisation of mental health services. A compelling case is made for a complementary healthcare model and bottom-up approach that is sensitive to the spiritual and cultural needs of the people. The text’s specific examination of mental healthcare in African countries makes it a timely piece for assisting mental health professionals in understanding the inequities in care that Black Asian and Minority Ethnic groups face and how to improve mental healthcare and delivery to these groups.

The role that race and religion play in American presidential elections is attracting national attention like never before. The 2008 presidential candidates reached out to an unprecedented number of racial and religious voting constituencies including African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, Mainline Protestants, Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews, women, the non-religious, and more. Religion, Race, and the American Presidency focuses on the roles of these racial and religious groups in presidential elections over the last forty years, and in elections since 2000 in particular. Drawing upon survey data, interviews, and case studies of recent presidents, the contributors examine the complicated relationships between American presidents and key racial and religious groups. The paperback edition features a new capstone chapter on the 2008 elections. Contributions by Brian Robert Calfano, David G. Dalin, Paul A. Djupe, Gastón Espinosa, John C. Green, Melissa V. Harris-Lacewell, Lyman A. Kellstedt, So Young Kim, David C. Leege, Laura R. Olson, Corwin Smidt, Katherine E. Stenger, and Adam L. Warber.

"Over ten years in the making, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement offers for the first time a sweeping historical and theological treatment of this complex, vibrant global communion. Written by more than 300 contributors, this major reference work contains over 700 original articles covering all of the significant individuals, events, places, and theological tenets that have shaped the Movement. Much more than simply a historical dictionary, this volume also constitutes an interpretive work reflecting historical consensus among Stone-Campbell scholars, even as it attempts to present a fair, representative picture of the rich heritage that is the Stone-Campbell Movement."--BOOK JACKET.

"Pentecostal Currents in American Protestantism addresses the theme of encounter within the Protestant faith by exploring moments in which identities and boundaries have been established or challenged as the Pentecostal and charismatic movements have taken their place on the American religious scene. Examining topics as diverse as the animosity that marked Pentecostalism's encounter with the Holiness movement, the forms and results of engagement between Pentecostal missionaries and Protestant mission boards in China, and the response of Southern and American Baptists to the charismatic renewal, contributors show how the confluence of the mainstream with other streams brings about questioning, realignment, and change."

While serving as an introduction to ecumenical liberal Protestantism and the social gospel over the course of the twentieth-century this book also highlights certain totalitarian as well as more fundamental conservative tendencies within those movements.

By 2025, Latin America's population of observant Christians will be the largest in the world. Nonetheless, studies examining the exponential growth of global Christianity tend to overlook this region, focusing instead on Africa and Asia. Research on Christianity in Latin America provides a core point of departure for understanding the growth and development of Christianity in the "Global South." In The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Christianity an interdisciplinary contingent of scholars examines Latin American Christianity in all of its manifestations from the colonial to the contemporary period. The essays here provide an accessible background to understanding Christianity in Latin America. Spanning the era from indigenous and African-descendant people's conversion to and transformation of Catholicism during the colonial period through the advent of Liberation Theology in the 1960s and conversion to Pentecostalism and Charismatic Catholicism, The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Christianity is the most complete introduction to the history and trajectory of this important area of modern Christianity.