This collection of essays showcases the variety and complexity of early awakened Protestant biblical interpretation and practice while highlighting the many parallels, networks, and exchanges that connected the Pietist and evangelical traditions on both sides of the Atlantic. A yearning to obtain from the Word spiritual knowledge of God that was at once experiential and practical lay at the heart of the Pietist and evangelical quest for true religion, and it significantly shaped the courses and legacies of these movements. The myriad ways in which Pietists and evangelicals read, preached, translated, and practiced the Bible were inextricable from how they fashioned new forms of devotion, founded institutions, engaged the early Enlightenment, and made sense of their world. This volume provides breadth and texture to the role of Scripture in these related religious traditions. The contributors probe an assortment of primary source material from various confessional, linguistic, national, and regional traditions and feature well-known figures—including August Hermann Francke, Cotton Mather, and Jonathan Edwards—alongside lesser-known lay believers, women, people of color, and so-called radicals and separatists. Pioneering and collaborative, this volume contributes fresh insight into the history of the Bible and the entangled religious cultures of the eighteenth-century Atlantic world. Along with the editors, the contributors to this volume include Ruth Albrecht, Robert E. Brown, Crawford Gribben, Bruce Hindmarsh, Kenneth P. Minkema, Adriaan C. Neele, Benjamin M. Pietrenka, Isabel Rivers, Douglas H. Shantz, Peter Vogt, and Marilyn J. Westerkamp.

Evangelicalism, a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity, is one of the most popular and diverse religious movements in the world today. Evangelicals maintain the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus' atonement. Evangelicals can be found on every continent and among nearly all Christian denominations. The origin of this group of people has been traced to the turn of the eighteenth century, with roots in the Puritan and Pietist movements in England and Germany. The earliest evangelicals could be found among Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Moravians, and Presbyterians throughout North America, Britain, and Western Europe, and included some of the foremost names of the age, such as Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, and George Whitefield. Early evangelicals were abolitionists, historians, hymn writers, missionaries, philanthropists, poets, preachers, and theologians. They participated in the major cultural and intellectual currents of the day, and founded institutions of higher education not limited to Dartmouth College, Brown University, and Princeton University. The Oxford Handbook of Early Evangelicalism provides the most authoritative and comprehensive overview of the significant figures and religious communities associated with early evangelicalism within the contextual and cultural environment of the long eighteenth century, with essays written by the world's leading experts in the field of eighteenth-century studies.

Studies in Evangelical History & Thought

Set against the international 'Great Awakening' and turmoil of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this book reveals the growth of religious revivalism in Ireland during a period of unparalleled political upheaval. It defines theorigins of religious and political polarization in Ireland.

The significant cultural, theological, and economic impulses originating from the pietist- influenced Francke Foundations in Halle had a profound effect on colonial British North America and the young American Republic. The Hallensian networks as well as their connections to and influences within North America are analyzed not only in the Atlantic context, but also in terms of the repercussions felt both in Germany and the United States during the 19th century. The contributions comprising this collection of essays situate Hallensian Pietism and Halle-influenced Lutheran German Americans within their respective larger historical contexts. Two such examples are the ethnic dimension of Franklin's nationalism as well as the influence of Lutheran doctrine and Pietism on the founding of Methodism. Additionally, there are several micro-studies concerned with the interdependencies between pastors from Halle and the American social surroundings into which they were thrust. The unraveling of the connections between Halle and North America at the dawn of the 19th century is illustrated in terms of the waning dissemination of knowledge in the natural sciences, above all pharmaceutical knowledge, stemming from Halle. Von den pietistisch gepragten Franckeschen Stiftungen in Halle gingen bedeutende kulturelle, theologische und wirtschaftliche Impulse aus, die auf das kolonialzeitliche Britisch-Nordamerika und die junge amerikanische Republik einwirkten. Hallesche Netzwerke, Verbindungen nach und Einflusse in Nordamerika werden im atlantischen Kontext, aber auch in der Nachwirkung sowohl in Deutschland als auch in den Vereinigten Staaten des 19. Jahrhunderts untersucht. Die Beitrage des Sammelbandes ordnen den halleschen Pietismus und die von Halle gepragten lutherischen Deutsch-Amerikaner jeweils in grossere zeitgeschichtliche Zusammenhange ein: Es geht z.B. um die ethnische Dimension des Nationalismus bei Franklin sowie um die Einflusse der lutherischen Lehre und des Pietismus auf den Methodismus. Hinzu kommen Mikrostudien zu Interdependenzen zwischen halleschen Pastoren und amerikanischem Umfeld. Die Lockerung der Verbindungen zwischen Halle und Nordamerika nach der Wende zum 19. Jahrhundert wird anhand der nachlassenden Verbreitung des aus Halle stammenden naturwissenschaftlichen, insbesondere pharmazeutischen Wissens aufgezeigt.

Most people, when they think about the purported conflict between science and religion, would most likely think first of evangelical Protestantism. Because of the prominent place evolution versus creationism--and such events as the Scopes Trial--has had in the debates over science and religion, many people think of evangelicals as hostile to science. As with other volumes in the Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion series, this work addresses the more complex interworkings between modern science and evangelical Christianity. Evangelicals and Science provides a thorough overview of the history of the relationship between these two dominant forces in public life, including chapters on evangelicals, the Bible and science, evangelicals and geology, the rise of Creationism, and evangelicals and modern science. The volume includes primary source documents to give readers a flavor of the writings of evangelicals on science, a timeline, and an annotated bibliography. --From publisher's description.

A multidisciplinary examination of religion in American life Encyclopedia of Religion in America examines how religious history and practices are woven into the political, social, cultural, and historical landscape of North America. This authoritative four-volume reference work explains the origins, development, adaptation, influence, and interrelations of the many faiths practiced, including major world religions, new religious sects, cults, and religious movements that originated or had an influence in the United States. Edited by well-known experts in the field, the Encyclopedia covers all the significant religious denominations and movements that have originated or flourished in North America, from the beginning of European settlement to the present day. The broad multidisciplinary coverage includes the religious life of indigenous peoples, specific aspects of religious life, and the relationship of political, social, economic, and cultural spheres. Topics include: Religion as an influential force in the U.S. Methods of worship Religion and politics Homosexuality and religion African American religion Arts and architecture Church-state issues Education Environment and ecology Ethnicity Evangelicals Faiths Gay and lesbian issues Historical overviews Immigration Media (new and old) Megachurches Movements and denominations New religious movements Popular religion and culture Race and racism Religious thought Religious Right Rites Role of women Terrorism and war Encyclopedia of Religion in America is an essential resource for students and scholars researching issues in a wide variety of social science disciplines, from American history to cultural studies, political science, gender studies, psychology of religion, and more. It reflects new scholarly research and interpretation that have emerged over the last two decades, as well as significant new areas of study, such as post-9/11 America, the role of gays and lesbians in church, gender, and the role of the evangelicals in American political life.