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The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond
With impressively clear prose and a superb command of history, best-selling author Randall Balmer offers a spirited history of evangelical Christianity in the United States. Effortlessly situating developments in evangelicalism in their wider historical context, he demonstrates the ways American social and cultural settings influenced the course of the evangelical tradition. By revealing the four key moments in the movement's history, he ably demonstrates how American Evangelicalism is truly American. Concluding with a manifesto directing where evangelicalism must go from here forth, Balmer's The Making of Evangelicalism will interest every reader--evangelical, mainline, secular--who wants to better understand evangelicals today.
89 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2010
About the author
Randall Balmer
38 books49 followersRandall Herbert Balmer, Ph.D. (Princeton University, 1985), is an ordained Episcopal Priest and historian of American religion, and holds the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College. He also has taught at Barnard College; Columbia, Rutgers, Princeton, Drew, Emory, Yale and Northwestern universities; and at Union Theological Seminary. Balmer was nominated for an Emmy Award for the PBS documentary "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory," based on his book of the same title.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 4, 2014
A very brief and readable history of the 20th century evangelical movement. The scholarly apparatus is kept to a minimum and the book ends with a polemical argument. Balmer makes two arguments of interest to the generalist reader: (1) Religion is most powerful when it is at the margins. Religions that get enmeshed in the centers of political and cultural power lose relevance. There is some compelling evidence from the Sociology of Religion to suggest that this is true. (2) Racial segregation, rather than Abortion was the motivating force for evangelical political mobilization. Here I think the argument is intriguing, but his treatment was far to brief for me to determine if he's right. I would like to read a more scholarly analysis of this argument. In all, this is an excellent (short) book.
January 20, 2021
This little book (85 pages) traces the American evangelical movement from the First Great Awakening to the rise of the Religious Right. It covers the main points without going into great detail on any of them. It's surprising to look back at how evangelicalism has changed over time here in the US, from Calvinist to Arminian, from post to pre-millenial, from socially conscious to politically withdrawn to co-opting its Christian principles in the name of political power. The notion that Christianity does best when it's not in power is true and important.
The author clearly has a liberal bias, which doesn't invalidate most of what he says, and while I don't claim to be an expert, I think his take on the role of the loss of tax-exempt status as more important than Roe v. Wade in politicizing Evangelicals is wrong. Still, it's an easy read and well worth the time.
The author clearly has a liberal bias, which doesn't invalidate most of what he says, and while I don't claim to be an expert, I think his take on the role of the loss of tax-exempt status as more important than Roe v. Wade in politicizing Evangelicals is wrong. Still, it's an easy read and well worth the time.
April 7, 2010
In only 84 pages, Balmer provides a brief history of evangelical christianity and their involvment in politics from the 19th C to the present.
I learned that abortion wasn't the issue around which the evangelicals originally coalesced, but racial discrimination. And that is only one of the bombshells dropped in this lucid little book.
Fast read and slow reread for this text. Informative history.
My copy is an advanced reading copy in paperback even though the ISBN is for the hardback edition.
I learned that abortion wasn't the issue around which the evangelicals originally coalesced, but racial discrimination. And that is only one of the bombshells dropped in this lucid little book.
Fast read and slow reread for this text. Informative history.
My copy is an advanced reading copy in paperback even though the ISBN is for the hardback edition.
May 10, 2010
I am really not sure why Balmer wrote this book. Who's its audience? Evangelicals with a short attention span? I only made it through the first third before I decided it was like the Reader's Digest condensed version of Blessed Assurance, which was quite enjoyable and much much better than this.
October 19, 2010
Read this one for school. It's a short but interesting read. Balmer traces the history of evangelicalism and then ends with a lengthy (relatively speaking, this is only an 80 page book after all) discussion of the religious right.
It's this final discussion that seems to be the point Balmer really wants to discuss. I found the results of his analysis to be very mixed.
He does raise some very good points. He argues that when any religious group attempts to gain political power they compromise their prophetic voice in society. It's a good argument and, whether you agree with him or not, is worth thinking about. His analysis of the motivating factors in the rise of the religious right is also very interesting.
Unfortunately, Balmer's frequent attacks on the religious right are not always well thought out and occasionally border on being slanderous. For example, early on in the book he makes the claim that the religious right has attempted to overturn the first amendment. That's a huge accusation and one he provides no evidence for whatsoever. His best example is Roy Moore's refusal to remove the 10 Commandments monument from his courthouse in Alabama. Say what you will about Roy Moore (and I wouldn't consider myself a fan of his) but that's a far cry from trying to amend the Constitution.
Balmer also seems to speak out of both sides of his mouth. As I mentioned above, he frequently criticizes the religious right for seeking political power. His points are definitely worth considering. However, he also criticizes them for not using their political power to support liberal causes such as opposing capital punishment and the use of torture. I get that Balmer is more left leaning. That's fine, but he's making two contradictory arguments. He can argue that Evangelicals should use their power for leftist causes or he can argue that Evangelicals shouldn't pursue that power at all. To argue both makes him look inconsistent at best and possibly hypocritical. The same thing goes for his condemning men like Jerry Falwell and James Dobson on one page and praising Jim Wallis on the next. The only difference between Wallis and Dobson (besides their obvious left/right divide) is that Dobson has been far more successful in advancing his religious and political agendas than has Wallis.
Toward the end of the book, Balmer attempts to claim that the religious right has no answer for his charges. His evidence for this? The fact that he's debated various right-leaning family members and won. Again, his point is interesting but his evidence is pathetic.
One final criticism that particularly bothered me. Balmer is very against the use of torture. I'm fine with that and I think there are good arguments to be made for his side. However, where I got very upset is when he compared torture to abortion. In his comparison he made the argument that we should be more concerned about torture than abortion because those being tortured are fully formed human beings while fetuses are not. Honestly, even if we concede that torture is terrible and should never happen, that argument is incredibly offensive. It's that sort of blatant disregard for the sanctity of unborn life that makes it difficult for those who do genuinely care about the abortion issue to take Balmer seriously. It's a shame because his arguments are worth consideration.
My review has been pretty negative but I stand by my three star rating. The early parts of the book which trace the rise of Evangelicalism are very interesting (if a little shallow due to their brevity). Also, the book makes you think and reconsider your own view of religion and politics, which is always a good thing.
Ultimately, I believe Balmer's arguments collapse in on themselves. He's inconsistent and fails to provide much, if any, data to back up his often very wild claims.
The book is definitely worth a read, but I'd hope that in future books Balmer can develop his arguments a bit more concretely.
It's this final discussion that seems to be the point Balmer really wants to discuss. I found the results of his analysis to be very mixed.
He does raise some very good points. He argues that when any religious group attempts to gain political power they compromise their prophetic voice in society. It's a good argument and, whether you agree with him or not, is worth thinking about. His analysis of the motivating factors in the rise of the religious right is also very interesting.
Unfortunately, Balmer's frequent attacks on the religious right are not always well thought out and occasionally border on being slanderous. For example, early on in the book he makes the claim that the religious right has attempted to overturn the first amendment. That's a huge accusation and one he provides no evidence for whatsoever. His best example is Roy Moore's refusal to remove the 10 Commandments monument from his courthouse in Alabama. Say what you will about Roy Moore (and I wouldn't consider myself a fan of his) but that's a far cry from trying to amend the Constitution.
Balmer also seems to speak out of both sides of his mouth. As I mentioned above, he frequently criticizes the religious right for seeking political power. His points are definitely worth considering. However, he also criticizes them for not using their political power to support liberal causes such as opposing capital punishment and the use of torture. I get that Balmer is more left leaning. That's fine, but he's making two contradictory arguments. He can argue that Evangelicals should use their power for leftist causes or he can argue that Evangelicals shouldn't pursue that power at all. To argue both makes him look inconsistent at best and possibly hypocritical. The same thing goes for his condemning men like Jerry Falwell and James Dobson on one page and praising Jim Wallis on the next. The only difference between Wallis and Dobson (besides their obvious left/right divide) is that Dobson has been far more successful in advancing his religious and political agendas than has Wallis.
Toward the end of the book, Balmer attempts to claim that the religious right has no answer for his charges. His evidence for this? The fact that he's debated various right-leaning family members and won. Again, his point is interesting but his evidence is pathetic.
One final criticism that particularly bothered me. Balmer is very against the use of torture. I'm fine with that and I think there are good arguments to be made for his side. However, where I got very upset is when he compared torture to abortion. In his comparison he made the argument that we should be more concerned about torture than abortion because those being tortured are fully formed human beings while fetuses are not. Honestly, even if we concede that torture is terrible and should never happen, that argument is incredibly offensive. It's that sort of blatant disregard for the sanctity of unborn life that makes it difficult for those who do genuinely care about the abortion issue to take Balmer seriously. It's a shame because his arguments are worth consideration.
My review has been pretty negative but I stand by my three star rating. The early parts of the book which trace the rise of Evangelicalism are very interesting (if a little shallow due to their brevity). Also, the book makes you think and reconsider your own view of religion and politics, which is always a good thing.
Ultimately, I believe Balmer's arguments collapse in on themselves. He's inconsistent and fails to provide much, if any, data to back up his often very wild claims.
The book is definitely worth a read, but I'd hope that in future books Balmer can develop his arguments a bit more concretely.
February 18, 2012
Randall Balmer has made a career out of trying to make the case that "the most effective and successful religious movements in American history have always situated themselves on the margins of society, not in the councils of power" (77). And to that effort I offer my full support.
In this fascinating albeit too brief overview of the rise of evangelicalism as a movement in America, Balmer offers some fresh insights into why evangelicals have been captivated by conservative political ideology and at times abandoned the legacy of their nineteenth century forbearers who adopted the causes of abolitionism and women's rights.
If you read anything in this book, read chapter four which makes the bold claim that the religious right which emerged in the mid-seventies to early-eighties did NOT spring from Roe v. Wade decision, but rather as a result of the government's treat that schools refusing to become racially integrated would loose their tax exempt status. He claims, "the very people who styled themselves the 'new abolitionists' to emphasize their moral kinship with the nineteenth-century opponents of slavery actually coalesced as a political movement effectively to defend racial discrimination" (65). While this historical interpretation is new and intriguing to me, Balmer does need more historical evidence to support his claims (which he may have omitted for the sake of brevity). However, I think this is an important work (much like Donald Dayton's "Discovering an Evangelical Heritage") at assisting the church in seeing how it has been subverted by political ideologies foreign to Scripture and raising important questions for both the left and the right to consider. I have no doubt my conservative friends will find some parts of the book too aggressive and caustic, yet I recommend it nonetheless -- especially to them -- as a helpful starting point for considering the historical factors which have impacted the modern evangelical church.
In this fascinating albeit too brief overview of the rise of evangelicalism as a movement in America, Balmer offers some fresh insights into why evangelicals have been captivated by conservative political ideology and at times abandoned the legacy of their nineteenth century forbearers who adopted the causes of abolitionism and women's rights.
If you read anything in this book, read chapter four which makes the bold claim that the religious right which emerged in the mid-seventies to early-eighties did NOT spring from Roe v. Wade decision, but rather as a result of the government's treat that schools refusing to become racially integrated would loose their tax exempt status. He claims, "the very people who styled themselves the 'new abolitionists' to emphasize their moral kinship with the nineteenth-century opponents of slavery actually coalesced as a political movement effectively to defend racial discrimination" (65). While this historical interpretation is new and intriguing to me, Balmer does need more historical evidence to support his claims (which he may have omitted for the sake of brevity). However, I think this is an important work (much like Donald Dayton's "Discovering an Evangelical Heritage") at assisting the church in seeing how it has been subverted by political ideologies foreign to Scripture and raising important questions for both the left and the right to consider. I have no doubt my conservative friends will find some parts of the book too aggressive and caustic, yet I recommend it nonetheless -- especially to them -- as a helpful starting point for considering the historical factors which have impacted the modern evangelical church.
December 20, 2013
Balmer's work is short and succinct, written in very readable prose. His tracing of the evolution of evangelicalism is very interesting, making history far more interesting than it usually comes off. He presents a fascinating progression, mostly giving a fair explanation for the various turning points of evangelicalism, though there are perhaps a few missing pieces and some aspects of the movement that are unmentioned, though this is hardly unexpected given the short length of the book. Additionally, I might have preferred a more impartial view of the history, as his liberal perspective becomes a bit too prominent especially toward the end, as he turns to prescription rather than description. Regardless, for such a thin book, it's an excellent, readable depiction of the movement's history that would be instructive, perhaps especially for those who call themselves evangelical.
May 8, 2010
Balmer neatly packages American evangelical history into four historical periods. I knew a little about the rise of Fundamentalism and the Religious Right, but I knew very little about the affect of Armenianism on American Progressivism and Premilleniamism on the evangelical shift off of Progressivism. Above all, I did not realize what a Calvinist viewpoint Americans had before the Second Great Awakening.
Be forewarned, Balmer is a liberal Evangelical, so many may not agree with him. However, his arguments are usually though-provoking. This is a very quick, but interesting read.
Be forewarned, Balmer is a liberal Evangelical, so many may not agree with him. However, his arguments are usually though-provoking. This is a very quick, but interesting read.
April 4, 2011
I really like Balmer's super-short essay style. The shortness of the book plays off the easy-bake / formulaic style used by preachers throughout America's history. Balmer seems to make the point there is the unseemly business of marketing religion that may not be completely kosher. The author does not wholesale condemn these brands of Evangelical preachers for their zeal but does hold them accountable for shading truth in favor of being "effective".
December 3, 2015
This was a required reading for my American Christianities course. Not a bad book, I don't hate it, and there are certainly parts that I found to be interesting. But, overall, definitely not something I would have ever picked up if it hadn't been required.
July 27, 2011
A fascinating and well-written brief history of evangelicalism in the US, hampered only by the author's overly snarky tone in the final chapter.
November 17, 2013
I don't remember much of this one, which basically sums it up.
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August 22, 2015Read excerpts for research project in August 2015.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews