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Covering Protestant, Hindu, Jewish, New Age, Mormon, Buddhist, Roman Catholic, and many other faiths, Religion in Twentieth Century America is a dynamic look at religion in America through two World Wars, vast industrialization, the civil rights movement, and massive immigration. Included are crucial moments, such as: * The appointment of Louis Brandeis, a Jew, to the U.S. Supreme Court * The contentious court trial of John T. Scopes, which dramatized the debate over Darwinism * The extraordinary rise of evangelist Billy Graham at mid-century * The Presbyterian church's decision to ordain women *The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. *The federal government's decision to attack the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. With a chronology, index, and suggestions for further reading following, these momentous events and others are tied together in an absorbing narrative in Religion in Twentieth Century America, providing an illuminating guide to the complex issues of 21st-century religion.
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Religion in Twentieth Century America
JON BUTLER & HARRY S. STOUT GENERAL EDITORS
Religion in Twentieth Century America Randall Balmer
OXPORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
For Christian, Andrew, and Sara OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 2001 by Randall Balmer Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Balmer, Randall Herbert. Religion in twentieth century America / Randall Balmer. p. cm. - (Religion in American life) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-511295-4 (library edition) 1. United States-Religion-20th century. I. Title. II. Series. BL2525.B35 200'.973'0904-DC21
2001 00-060674
987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Design and layout: Loraine Machlin Picture research: Amla Sanghvi On the cover: Temples of God and Goldby Frederick Detwiller. Frontispiece: Celebrity panelists (from left) Ethel Waters, Herman Wouk, Grace Kelly, and Charles E. Wilson appeared on the 1950s television program Religion in American Life. Many Americans believed that church and synagogue attendance was a crucial weapon in the cold war, and President Dwight Eisenhower encouraged it in this 1953 telecast.
Contents Editors' Introduction Jon Butler and Harry S. Stout C H A P T E R
C H A P T E R
C H A P T E R
C H A P T E R
C H A P T E R
C H A P T E R
C H A P T E R
7
1 Beginnings
11
2 The Age of Militancy
25
3 In God We Trust
43
_4
Religion in the New Frontier
63
5 Religion in an Age of Upheaval
83
6 Preachers, Politicians, and Prodigals
99
_7
Religion for the New Millennium
113
Chronology
130
Further Reading
134
Index
.139
Editors' Introduction JON BUTLER & HARRY S. STOUT, GENERAL EDITORS
n the 1960s, it was fashionable for theologians, public intellectuals, and academicians to proclaim the Death of God in the 20th century. They argued that the forces of