In 1973; nearly a decade before the height of the Moral Majority; a group of progressive activists assembled in a Chicago YMCA to strategize about how to move the nation in a more evangelical direction through political action. When they emerged; the Washington Post predicted that the new evangelical left could "shake both political and religious life in America." The following decades proved the Post both right and wrong—evangelical participation in the political sphere was intensifying; but in the end it was the religious right; not the left; that built a viable movement and mobilized electorally. How did the evangelical right gain a moral monopoly and why were evangelical progressives; who had shown such promise; left behind?In Moral Minority; the first comprehensive history of the evangelical left; David R. Swartz sets out to answer these questions; charting the rise; decline; and political legacy of this forgotten movement. Though vibrant in the late nineteenth century; progressive evangelicals were in eclipse following religious controversies of the early twentieth century; only to reemerge in the 1960s and 1970s. They stood for antiwar; civil rights; and anticonsumer principles; even as they stressed doctrinal and sexual fidelity. Politically progressive and theologically conservative; the evangelical left was also remarkably diverse; encompassing groups such as Sojourners; InterVarsity Christian Fellowship; Evangelicals for Social Action; and the Association for Public Justice. Swartz chronicles the efforts of evangelical progressives who expanded the concept of morality from the personal to the social and showed the way—organizationally and through political activism—to what would become the much larger and more influential evangelical right. By the 1980s; although they had witnessed the election of Jimmy Carter; the nation's first born-again president; progressive evangelicals found themselves in the political wilderness; riven by identity politics and alienated by a skeptical Democratic Party and a hostile religious right.In the twenty-first century; evangelicals of nearly all political and denominational persuasions view social engagement as a fundamental responsibility of the faithful. This most dramatic of transformations is an important legacy of the evangelical left.
#381961 in Books imusti 1999-08-03Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .64 x 5.98l; 1.04 #File Name: 0812217144256 pagesUniversity of Pennsylvania Press
Review
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Not What I ExpectedBy Joe WardI bought this book thinking it would focus on pre-Christian Norse Heathenism and was a bit surprised to find a heavy focus on the Celtic; Byzantine and Roman Christianity of the Middle Ages. At first I was a bit annoyed by this but as the author points out these often conflicting and competing branches of Christianity were very much an influence during the Viking Age and it is necessary to understand this influence when interpreting the Heathen Lore; since Snorri Sturluson and all the anonymous authors of the Icelandic Sagas were Christians. None of the Lore comes down to us from Heathen authors and every one of the Christian authors who wrote of Heathen times and practices had an agenda of defaming Heathenism. In this light "Nordic Religions of the Viking Age" is very illuminating although it was not what I expected when I ordered the book. An interesting and eye-opening read overall but those uninterested in Medieval Christianity or looking for an overview of Norse Heathenism might look elsewhere.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Fresh perspective; good use of dataBy KC ResidentThe book is a fresh perspective on early medieval religions in northern Europe; and the author made good use of a wide range of data. A small criticism is that he misuses "Nordic". More important criticism are that the book gives a large amount of information; the analysis is logical throughout; but the case of mutual influence of Northern European cultures is not so convincing in the latter half or third of the book; where Mr. DuBois tries to convince us that seith and Sami shamanism have a lot in common. The argument is very informative even where I see the opposite implication in the data. The book is written as a corrective to the common tendency to analyze data on early medieval northern European religions as if they were all "pure" and isolated. In fact; it is interesting that people would (by conscious will) maintain very distinct ethnic identities with as much intercultural contact as this book shows -- but that is a topic for another study.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Informative without being boringBy Scooter RiderI ordered this book because of a Viking history course I was in this fall semester. I never thought I would use it as much as I did! This book is amazingly detailed without being a hard read. The text flowed well and I learned a great deal; also; I ended up with an 'A' in the course and received lots of feed back about how informative my essays were; largely due to this book. I do not often say that a text is definitive on any topic; but this one is well done that I think this book has earned it.
