The Lively Experiment: The Shaping of Christianity in America

Description

In this lucid and learned book one of America's outstanding historians shows the development of the thought and institutional life which characterize Christianity in America. He explains this religious development in terms of the emergence of religious freedom and the physical fact of the frontier. As he enlarges upon many aspects of his main theme, Dr. Mead traces the parallel growth and creative tension of Christianity and democracy.Dr. Mead discusses:The American PeopleFrom Coercion to PersuasionAmerican Protestantism during the Revolutionary EpochThomas Jefferson's Fair ExperimentAbraham Lincoln's Last, Best Hope of EarthWhen Wise Men HopedDenominationalismAmerican Protestantism Since the Civil War I. From Denominationalism to AmericanismAmerican Protestantism Since the Civil War II. From Americanism to ChristianityThe Lively Experiment is an unusually interesting and timely study that will appeal to every reader concerned with the religious, social, intellectual, and cultural history of America. I. The American People: Their Space, Time, and Religion II. From Coercion to Persuasion: Another Look at the Rise of Religious Liberty and the Emergence of Denominationalism III. American Protestantism during the Revolutionary Epoch IV. Thomas Jefferson's "Fair Experiment": Religious Freedom V. Abraham Lincoln's "Last, Best Hope of Earth": The American Dream of Destiny and Democracy VI. When "Wise Men Hoped": An Examination of the Mind and spirit of the National Period VII. Denominationalism: The Shape of Protestantism in America VIII. American Protestantism since the Civil War. I. From Denominationalism to Americanism IX. American Protestantism since the Civil War. II. From Americanism to Christianity