The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History provides an affordable and accessible reference to over 750 outstanding individual women and women's organizations in American religious history.--From publisher description.

The 1920s saw one of the most striking revolutions in manners and morals to have marked North American society, affecting almost every aspect of life, from dress and drink to sex and salvation. Protestant Christianity was being torn apart by a heated controversy between traditionalists and the modernists, as they sought to determine how much their beliefs and practices should be altered by scientific study and more secular attitudes. Out of the controversy arose the Fundamentalist movement, which has become a powerful force in twentieth-century America. During this decade, hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of young girl preachers, some not even school age, joined the conservative Christian cause, proclaiming traditional values and condemning modern experiments with the new morality. Some of the girls drew crowds into the thousands. But the stage these girls gained went far beyond the revivalist platform. The girl evangelist phenomenon was recognized in the wider society as well, and the contrast to the flapper worked well for the press and the public. Girl evangelists stood out as the counter-type of the flapper, who had come to define the modern girl. The striking contrast these girls offered to the racy flapper and to modern culture generally made girl evangelists a convenient and effective tool for conservative and revivalist Christianity, a tool which was used by their adherents in the clash of cultures that marked the 1920s.

The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Race in American History brings together a number of established scholars, as well as younger scholars on the rise, to provide a scholarly overview for those interested in the role of religion and race in American history. Thirty-four scholars from the fields of History, Religious Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, and more investigate the complex interdependencies of religion and race from pre-Columbian origins to the present. The volume addresses the religious experience, social realities, theologies, and sociologies of racialized groups in American religious history, as well as the ways that religious myths, institutions, and practices contributed to their racialization. Part One begins with a broad introductory survey outlining some of the major terms and explaining the intersections of race and religions in various traditions and cultures across time. Part Two provides chronologically arranged accounts of specific historical periods that follow a narrative of religion and race through four-plus centuries. Taken together, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Race in American History provides a reliable scholarly text and resource to summarize and guide work in this subject, and to help make sense of contemporary issues and dilemmas.

Because of Eve is a thorough examination of how the Church and Christian men sought to define women and the roles women must play within the church, home, and society for more than two thousand years. The book examines the works of theologians, decrees of councils, canon law, statements of faith, and a myriad of other pronouncements that affected their generation--and the following generation's--beliefs concerning women. Each chapter considers the era in which these beliefs were voiced, as much of what was accepted as orthodoxy was reflected in or based on cultural beliefs. WORDS OF PRAISE This important study surveys the roles of women, roles often assigned to them by men, through both biblical testaments and across Christian history to the contemporary church. It is a significant research resource for understanding historical, theological, spiritual and cultural interactions between males and females and the religious dogmas that influenced and divided them. ---Bill J. Leonard, Emeritus Professor of Divinity, Wake Forest University Joseph Early has meticulously researched the primary sources throughout the history of the Church to show definitively how men, for their own purposes, have used the Bible to categorize and define women. Early then goes further to show how these erroneous and unbiblical beliefs are reflected and amplified in some modern-day theologies and practices. As an observer of this six-year long research project, I can attest to the author's innate dedication and fidelity to the task of showing how God's word is not detrimental to women but instead uplifts them as co-heirs with Christ and indeed, on equal ground with their brothers in Christ. --Twyla K. Hernández, Professor of Missions, Campbellsville University Joseph Early’s Because of Eve: Historical and Theological Survey of the Subjugation of Women in the Christian Tradition is an incredibly useful compendium of Christian men’s beliefs about women across church history. With careful detail and ample primary source evidence, Early demonstrates how for most of church history, men have offered biblical interpretations and constructed misogynistic theologies that maintain and reproduce the subordination of women. This volume will be helpful for academics and general readers alike for its comprehensive documentation of the treatment of women in men’s thinking and writing from biblical times until the present. ---Susan M. Shaw, Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Oregon State University

Part one provides an overview of Christianity, the Bible, and theology in Latin America. Part two provides information for each country, including: demographics, timeline, church and state, autonomous churches, major religious festivals, popular devotions, saints and blesseds, and biographies.

Written primarily for undergraduate classes in American religious history and organized chronologically, this new textbook presents the broad scope of the story of religion in the American colonies and the United States. While following certain central narratives, including the long shadow of Puritanism, the competition between revival and reason, and the defining role of racial and ethnic diversity, the book tells the story of American religion in all its historical and moral complexity. To appeal to its broad range of readers, this textbook includes charts, timelines, and suggestions for primary source documents that will lead readers into a deeper engagement with the material. Unlike similar history books, The Story of Religion in America pays careful attention to balancing the story of Christianity with the central contributions of other religions.

In Apostles of Reason, Molly Worthen offers a sweeping history of modern American evangelicalism, arguing that the faith has been shaped not by shared beliefs but by battles over the relationship between faith and reason.