Histories of American Christianity: An Introduction

Histories of American Christianity: An Introduction. By Christopher H. Evans. (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2013, Pp. xi, 403. $44.95, paper.)"If one rereads the pages of this book," writes Christopher Evans in the book's epilogue, "one does not read a 'happily-ever-after' story about how Christianity realized the kingdom of God or the New Jerusalem coming to America." Far from presenting Christianity in North American history as one epic tragedy, however, Evans sees this "very messy, very human" story as evidence of American ingenuity through periods of conflict, social transformation, and rising diversity (360). Pluralities abound in this dynamic environment: peoples, nations, languages, Christianities, and-particularly for Evans's project-histories. No linear chronicle could capture a historical landscape so inherently protean, so Evans employs a fresh strategy to introduce his subject: he builds a narrative in dialogue with classic surveys of American religious history. The histories written by Robert Baird, Philip Schaff, William Warren Sweet, Sydney Ahlstrom, and a few others appear as contextual signposts that reveal not only what happened, but also what choices and selections historians have made (6). The result is an effective introduction to both the subject and the field that will prove useful for nonspecialists and advanced readers alike.Evans builds a narrative that begins with New England Puritanism and runs through to today's "pluralistic cacophony" (12), giving a thoroughly Protestant emphasis throughout. He insists that the Puritans gave Americans their "psychological center" with their fascination for covenant theology and the reality of human sin (21-22). Their striving for a virtuous society colored and oriented the intellectual world of early settlements so much that reverberations of this worldview persist into the twenty-first century. America, for these Christians, was the embodiment of biblical prophecy; it held a unique commission to transform the world for Christ. Protestants sought this transformation through churchgoing, revival, mission, and education-areas of society so culturally interconnected that little of the American experience could avoid their influences. Evans places his greatest emphasis on the nineteenth century, arguing that this period manifests the profound resilience of the Puritan ethos. Here he makes the boldest offering of the book, contending against critics and pundits who instead notice a decline in Puritan influence over American history (14). …