History of Religion

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  Nazism, Liberalism, and Christianity: Protestant Social Thought in Germany and Great Britain, 1925-1937

  The Great Depression devastated the economies of both Germany and Great Britain. Yet the middle classes in the two countries responded in vastly different ways. German Protestants, perceiving a choice among a Bolshevik-style revolution, the chaos and decadence of Weimar liberalism, and Nazi authoritarianism, voted Hitler into power and then acquiesced in the resulting dictatorship. In Britain, Labour and Tory politicians moved gingerly together to form a National Government that muddled through the Depression with piecemeal reform.

  In this troubling book about troubled times, Kenneth Barnes looks into the question of how theologians and church leaders contributed to a cultural ...Read More

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  Rebuilding the Christian Commonwealth: New England Congregationalists and Foreign Missions, 1800-1830

  The foreign missionary movement of the early 19th century grew out of the efforts of churches in New England to deal with the changes then taking place in society. The erosion of traditional institutional structures and social values plus the rise of Unitarianism threatened the destruction of the traditional faith. The author holds that the Congregational clergy used foreign missions not only to implant New England culture in heathen lands but also to awaken a sense of community at home.

  John A. Andrew III is assistant professor of history at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

  "A valuable addition to ...Read More

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  Frontier Mission: A History of Religion West of the Southern Appalachians to 1861

  Religion is viewed here as the great cultural force which introduced and preserved civilization in the era of westward expansion from 1776 to the eve of the Civil War. In this first major study of religion in the South, Mr. Posey surveys the work of the seven chief denominations-Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Disciples of Christ, Cumberland Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Episcopal-as they developed in the frontier region that now comprises the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri.

  The great challenges faced by the churches, Mr. Posey believes, were, first, the barbarism continually threatening a ...Read More