A. General Works

2405. Gaustad, Edwin Scott. Historical atlas of religion in America. New York, Harper & Row [1962] 179 p. illus. Map 62–51 G1201.E4G3 1962

An account of the growth of the larger religious groups, accompanied by maps showing the location of their principal adherents and graphs indicating their comparative size. The author comments on the lack of reliable statistics (each church counts its membership in its own way) and, wherever possible, provides both the number of churches and the number of members as indications of size. The first three sections treat the subject chronologically; the last section concerns special groups (Indians, Jews, and Negroes) and special areas (Alaska and Hawaii).

2406. Hudson, Winthrop S. American Protestantism. [Chicago] University of Chicago Press [1961] 198 p. (The Chicago history of American civilization) 61–15936 BR515.H78

"Suggested reading": p. 187–191.

2407. Littell, Franklin H. From state church to pluralism; a Protestant interpretation of religion in American history. Garden City, N.Y., Anchor Books, 1962. 174 p. (Anchor books, A294) 61–9530 BR515.L55

Two historical analyses of the growth and decline of Protestant influence in America. Both authors consider Protestantism today to be a culture religion equating itself with Americanism; the major denominations have liberalized their membership standards and softened their theological differences. American Protestantism completes the studies of the principal religions of the United States in the University of Chicago’s series on American civilization. Earlier volumes, no. 5448 and 5458 in the 1960 Guide, respectively, contain analyses of the growth of Catholicism and Judaism. Hudson emphasizes ideas and movements and minimizes dates and details. Littell attacks in his history the notion that the United States was once a "’Christian nation’ (i.e., Protestant controlled)" as a myth and a stumbling block in Protestantism’s effort to assess its current position and potential in today’s religiously plural society.

2408. Hudson, Winthrop S. Religion in America. New York, Scribner [1965] 447 p. 65–28188 BR515.H79

Bibliographical footnotes.

A study of religion from colonial times to the present. The author does not trace individual denominations; rather, he concentrates on major religious forces working in the society in specific periods and correlates the emergence of new religious groups with their environments and backgrounds. Discussions of the Holiness movement, Fundamentalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, and, to a more limited degree, Roman Catholicism are deferred to the periods when those groups began to loom large on the American scene. The post-Civil War years receive as much attention as the longer time interval preceding the war.

2409. McLoughlin, William G. Modern revivalism: Charles Grandison Finney to Billy Graham. New York, Ronald Press [1959] 551 p. 58–12959 BV3773.M3

"Notes on the sources": p. 531–535.

A history of revivalism from the early 19th century to the present. The author sees revivalism as a social, rather than a religious, phenomenon, arising from the need to adjust Protestantism to cultural changes. Charles G. Finney "made revivalism a profession," and Dwight L. Moody gave it the aspects of a well-organized business, employing planning, extensive advertising, and sound financing. McLoughlin devotes most of his attention to Finney, Moody, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham and notes in passing numerous minor evangelists. Revivalism between 1840 and 1865 is explored in Timothy L. Smith’s Revivalism and Social Reform in Mid-Nineteenth-Century America (New York, Abingdon Press [1957] 253 p.). A biography of Dwight L. Moody is Richard K. Curtis’ They Call Him Mister Moody (Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1962. 378 p.).

2410. Mayer, Frederick E. The religious bodies of America. 4th ed., rev. by Arthur Carl Piepkorn. Saint Louis, Concordia Pub. House, 1961. 598 p. 61–15535 BR516.5.M3 1961

An updated edition of no. 5397 in the 1960 Guide.

2411. Mead, Frank S. Handbook of denominations in the United States. New 4th ed. New York, Abingdon Press [1965] 271 p. 65–21980 BR516.5.M38 1965. Bibliography: p. 246–256.

An updated edition of no. 5398 in the 1960 Guide.

2412. Olmstead, Clifton E. History of religion in the United States. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1960. 628 p. 60–10355 BR515.O4

Essentially a theological history, this work nevertheless places religion against a background of political, social, and economic developments. In an annotated bibliography (p. 595–611),the author suggests additional reading and evaluates some of the more specialized studies. In 1961, he published a brief survey, Religion in America, Past and Present (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall. 172 p. A Spectrum book, S–20).

2413. Osborn, Ronald E. The spirit of American Christianity. New York, Harper [1958] 241 p. 57–9881 BR516.O74

"Bibliographical note": p. 225–234.

2414. Marty, Martin E. The new shape of American religion. New York, Harper [1959] 180 p. 59–10336 BR526.M35

Each of these Volumes examines the current nature of Protestantism. Osborn, professor of church history at Christian Theological Seminary, writes primarily for a European audience and concerns himself largely with such aspects of religion as the separation of church and state, denominationalism, and the general indifference to theology and liturgy. In his role of interpreter for interested foreigners, the author tries to provide a factual but sympathetic picture. Marry has a sharply contrasting objective; he strives to arouse lethargic religious leaders athome. The New Shape of American Religion is an indictment of contemporary Protestantism, which, the author contends, has been eroded by the social environment, leaving only a "religion-in-general" differing little from the secular "religion of democracy." He urges Protestants to accept religious pluralism and revitalize their religious outlook. Other aspects of contemporary Protestantism are analyzed in Sidney E. Mead’s collection of essays, The Lively Experiment: The Shaping of Christianity in America (New York, Harper & Row [1963] 220 p.).

2415. Smith, Hilrie Shelton, Robert T. Handy, and Lefferts A. Loetscher. American Christianity; an historical interpretation with representative documents. New York, Scribner [1960–63] 2 v. illus. 60–8117 BR514.S55

CONTENTS.—v. 1. 1607–1820.—v. 2. 1820–1960.

A collection of documents on Protestant and Catholic history. The range of selection is wide, including excerpts from Dale’s Laws, Jefferson’s views on Christian orthodoxy, the report of John Carroll on American Catholicism in 1785, the Plan of Union of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, essays by Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and John Courtney Murray, and Martin Luther King’s views on the ethics of nonviolence. The compilers have divided their material chronologically and topically. Each chapter has a general introduction and a concluding essay on bibliography, and each document is prefaced by biographical and historical information.

2416. Smith, James Ward, and Albert Leland Jamison, eds. Religion in American life. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1961. 3 v. in 4. illus. (Princeton studies in American civilization, no. 5) 61–5383 BR515.S6

Volume 4 by Nelson R. Burr in collaboration with the editors.

CONTENTS.—1. The shaping of American religion.—2. Religious perspective in American culture.—4. A critical bibliography of religion in America. 2 v.

These volumes grew out of the experience of the Special Program in American Civilization at Princeton University in offering seminars during the academic years 1948–49, 1953–54, and 1957–58. The program was devoted to the study of "the religious dimensions of American culture, and the cultural dimensions of American religion," and the essays in the first two volumes cover a wide range of topics. The author of the volumes devoted to bibliography has woven the titles of books, articles, and unpublished theses, along with critical and historical notes, into a continuous narrative text. A projected volume 3, by Jacob Viner, is to be on the subject of the European background of religious thought and the economic society.

2417. Williams, John P. What Americans believe and how they worship. Rev. ed. New York, Harper & Row [1962] 530 p. 62–7308 BR516.5.W5 1962

An updated edition of no. 5404 in the 1960 Guide.