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The Evangelicals
The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America | Frances FitzGerald
[A] capacious history of Evangelical American Protestantism.A complex and fascinating epic. Booklist (starred review) FitzGeralds brilliant book could not have been more timely, more well-researched, more well-written, or more necessary. The American Scholar This groundbreaking book from Pulitzer Prizewinning historian Frances FitzGerald is the first to tell the powerful, dramatic story of the Evangelical movement in Americafrom the Puritan era to the 2016 presidential election. The evangelical movement began in the revivals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, known in America as the Great Awakenings. A populist rebellion against the established churches, it became the dominant religious force in the country. During the nineteenth century white evangelicals split apart dramatically, first North versus South, and then at the end of the century, modernist versus fundamentalist. After World War II, Billy Graham, the revivalist preacher, attracted enormous crowds and tried to gather all Protestants under his big tent, but the civil rights movement and the social revolution of the sixties drove them apart again. By the 1980s Jerry Falwell and other southern televangelists, such as Pat Robertson, had formed the Christian right. Protesting abortion and gay rights, they led the South into the Republican Party, and for thirty-five years they were the sole voice of evangelicals to be heard nationally. Eventually a younger generation of leaders protested the Christian rights close ties with the Republican Party and proposed a broader agenda of issues, such as climate change, gender equality, and immigration reform. Evangelicals have in many ways defined the nation. They have shaped our culture and our politics. Frances FitGeralds narrative of this distinctively American movement is a major work of history, piecing together the centuries-long story for the first time. Evangelicals now constitute twenty-five percent of the American population, but they are no longer monolithic in their politics. They range from Tea Party supporters to social reformers. Still, with the decline of religious faith generally, FitzGerald suggests that evangelical churches must embrace ethnic minorities if they are to survive.
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VAboTYOoksJO
Pickpick

Took a long time, but worth the effort, especially if you grew up as a Southern Baptist Southerner.

SamAnne One of my best reads last year. 6y
1 like1 comment
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

The Evangelicals explores the history of this branch of Christianity in the US, focusing on the shift into politics about 60 years ago. FitzGerald is a true historian, revealing her subject without her own opinion (until the epilogue). I learned a lot but had to take frequent breaks when the hypocrisy grew too thick. I agree that this book deserved recognition by the NBA.

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mrozzz
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Pickpick

25+ hours on audio & a dull account of American Evangelicals‘ 1st awakening (1700s-1800s) aside— the 20th century section was wildly interesting. Although not surprising to anyone familiar with the last 60 years, I was anxious to hear how this/that pastor could affect the next election & how thoroughly the Church dictated national policy in the mid-1900s.

The moral: times they are a-changing as the Christian population falls into the minority.

VanChocStrawberry And it‘s not just that the Christian population numbers are falling. It‘s that a growing number of Christians, like me, who were raised evangelical, have left so much of what that means behind, while still holding on to Faith. 7y
mrozzz @VanChocStrawberry it‘s fascinating. I‘m not religious so to hear why certain causes meant more at different moments in time was very revealing. It was also disappointing how much the churches & organizations really rely on money to the point where if they don‘t have growing attendance they have to lay off many people. It‘s this industry way of operating that turned off many of their young followers, apparently. 7y
SamAnne It is an important piece of American history. Great read. 6y
83 likes3 comments
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mrozzz
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Thanks @AThousandLives87 💜

1. Mostly print, but I got hooked on audiobooks in the last year. Tagged is my current audio. 🎧

2. 8.5 in 👞 8 in 👠

3. PEANUT BUTTER- & jelly, & chocolate, on apples, on bananas. 👌🏻🥜🍫🍎🍌

4. Grey‘s Anatomy. 👩🏼‍⚕️👨🏽‍⚕️ Seen the entire series 6+ times. It‘s comforting when I need something familiar to lull me to sleep or provide background noise.

5. @TheBookHippie have you done it yet?? #FriyayIntro

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WhatDeeReads
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I spent some time reading this article and feeling exactly the same as the author. I was planning to read this because it‘s in the NBA long list. This is real. So many don‘t want to see it or believe it.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomiobaro/i-used-to-be-a-conservative-evangelical-now-i...

mrozzz Also have this on my TBR because of NBA shortlist (edited) 7y
WhatDeeReads @mrozzz Yep. At some point next year I‘m reading the long list for NBA non-fiction and the Nebula. (edited) 7y
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BookishMarginalia
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Libby1 I'm from this background and what I have seen in recent years has broken my heart completely. I want people who say they love Jesus to try to influence the world with love. 💔 8y
MyNamesParadise I'm essentially an atheist. I want to believe there's something greater than us but at the end of the day, I just don't. Every time I hear a politician say "because it's God's will" or other such BS I just roll my eyes bc it sounds delusional!! God won't help us!! We need to help us!!! And God is on our money, don't get me started on that ? Evangelicals don't give a crap about anyone. Religion in general irks me. Rant over. ? 8y
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scatterall
Pickpick

I read this for a Shelf review. I think it's already my history pick for 2017. Endlessly eye-opening about why US culture is the way it is-- the volunteerism, the social movements, the individualism and anti-intellectualism, the link between fundamentalism and white supremacy, the fear.... and she can tell a good story too.