To the full text of his original 1966 warning that southern Protestants must join the fight for racial justice or decline in influence, Hill (religion, U. of Florida) adds an introductory essay. There he reexamines his predictions, describes how the study of religion in the south has become a major scholarly field, engages his critics and revisers, integrates new perspectives, and suggests new areas for exploration. He also updates the bibliographic references. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Hill’s landmark work in southern religious history returns to print updated and expanded—and compellingly relevant. In 1966, Samuel S. Hill’s Southern Churches in Crisis argued that southern Protestantism, a cornerstone of white southern society and culture, was shirking its moral duty by refusing to join in the fight for racial justice. Hill predicted that the church was risking its standing in southern society and that it would ultimately decline in influence and power. A groundbreaking study at the time, Hill’s book helped establish southern religious history as a field of scholarly inquiry. Three decades later, Southern Churches in Crisis continues to be widely read, quoted, and cited. In Southern Churches in Crisis Revisited, which reprints the 1966 text in full, Hill reexamines his earlier predictions in an introductory essay that also describes how the study of religion in the South has become a major field of scholarly inquiry. Hill skillfully engages his critics by integrating new perspectives and recent scholarship. He suggests new areas for exploration and provides a selected bibliography of key studies in southern religious history published in the three decades subsequent to the original appearance of this groundbreaking work.

The Church of Jesus Christ in America is in great need of a revival. Currently revival is sweeping many parts of the world with the exception of America, Japan, and Western Europe, the three materialistic societies. In this book the author looks at the role prayer has played and will play in reviving the Church. Without a powerful move of God, our nation has no hope.

Franklin's book urges direct engagement by African American and other churches with America's mounting social problems and details programs for children, elders, and economic action.