This new edition expands and updates the only general interpretation of the rise and influence of perfectionist revivalism in America and Europe. Fifteen years of expanding research on the holiness movement reinforce this volume's continuing seminal value to cultural and social research. The new concluding essay describes the history of the revival through the turn of the century. This book expands our understanding of the fragmentation and coalescence of American religion by analyzing the factors which created numerous new holiness denominations. Dieter also outlines the historical and theological factors that separate this largely Wesleyan and Methodist wing of evangelicalism from the fundamentalism of Reformed evangelicals. The identification of such nuances will prove especially helpful to those struggling with the extreme diversity in American religion, especially in evangelicalism. For students and scholars of American religious movements as well as students of the feminist, temperance, abolitionist, and populist movements in American society.

From the Preface: Every year, during the month of July, thousands of Christians from all parts of the world gather for a Convention for the deepening of the spiritual life, lasting one week, in the little town of Keswick, which nestles at the foot of Skiddaw mountain and beside beautiful Lake Derwentwater, in the Lake District of northern England, a region famous by association with the Lake poets - Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey - and for picturesque and fascinating scenery unsurpassed in all England, if not in all Europe. Since 1875, when the first of these Conventions was held, the influence of what is taught there has been increasingly felt in the Christian world, until Keswick teaching has come to be regarded as one of the most potent spiritual forces in recent Church history. The 'Keswick movement' has become historic.... Here, then, we have the teaching of Keswick, one of the most interesting religious phenomena of our time.

Today, many evangelicals in the Russian-speaking world emphasize sanctification as a distinctive mark of their Christian faith. This is a unique characteristic, particularly in the European context. Their historic tapestry has been woven from a number of threads that originated in the second half of the nineteenth century. Missionary efforts of the German Baptists, a revival sparked by a British evangelist, and a pietistic awakening among the Mennonites in the South converged to form a tapestry that displays Protestant, Baptist, and Anabaptist heritage. Ivan Kargel uniquely participated in the formation and ministry of each of these threads. His life spans from Tsarist Russia to the Soviet Union. Kargel refused to adhere to a systematic view of theology. Instead, he urged believers to go to Scripture and draw from the riches of a life united with Christ. Kargel's influence today is keenly felt across the Russian-speaking evangelical world as they seek to identify the roots of their spiritual identity. This book examines the influences on Ivan Kargel and offers insights into how his life and work are expressed in the tapestry of Russian evangelical spirituality.