This book is a lively and accessible study of English religious life during the century of the Reformation. It draws together a wide range of recent research and makes extensive use of colourful contemporary evidence. The author explores the involvement of ordinary people within, alongside and beyond the church, covering topics such as liturgical practice, church office, relations with the clergy, festivity, religious fellowships, cheap print, 'magical' religion and dissent. The result is a distinctive interpretation of the Reformation as it was experienced by English people, and the strength, resourcefulness and flexibility of their religion emerges as an important theme.

When it comes to evangelicals and sex, it seems, whatever the question, the answer is no. In Saving Sex, Amy DeRogatis argues that this could not be further from the truth. Demolishing the myth of evangelicals as anti-sex, she shows that American evangelicals claim that fabulous sexin the right contextis viewed as a divinely-sanctioned, spiritual act. For decades, evangelical sex education has been a thriving industry. Evangelical couples have sought advice from Christian psychologists and marriage counselors, purchased millions of copies of faith-based sexual guidebooks, and consulted magazines, pamphlets, websites, blogs, and podcasts on a vast array of sexual topics, including human anatomy, STDssometimes known as Sexually Transmitted Demonsvarieties of sexual pleasure, role-play, and sex toys, all from a decidedly biblical angle. DeRogatis discusses a wide range of evidence, from purity literature for young evangelicals to sex manuals for married couples to deliverance manuals, which instruct believers in how to expel demons that enter the body through sexual sin. Evangelicals have at times attempted to co-opt the language of female empowerment, emphasizing mutual consent and female sexual pleasure while insisting that the key to marital sexual happiness depends on maintaining traditional gender roles based on the literal interpretation of scripture. Saving Sex is a long-overdue exploration of evangelicals surprising and often-misunderstood beliefs about sexwho can do what, when, and whyand of the many ways in which they try to bring those beliefs to bear on American culture.

This German edition of Muhleberg's correspondence is of fundemental importance not only for church history in the USA, but also for the early history of that country. The letters, reproduced in their orignal form, are accompanied by numerous footnotes, which offer necessary explanations and commentary on their and commentary on the texts of the letters. They reflect not only the history of German Lutherism in the USA but also the history of other churches and denominations.

This book tells how a group of Protestant theologians forged a theology of international engagement for America in the 1930s and 40s, and how in doing so they informed the public rationale for the United States' participation in World War II and stimulated American leadership in establishing both secular and international organizations for the promotion of world order. This remarkable group included Henry P. Van Dusen, Reinhold Niebuhr, John Bennett, Francis P. Miller, Georgia Harkness, and Samual McCrea Cavert. Warren show how, in creating a coherent, theologically-derived position and bringing it to bear on contemporary international issues, this group combined ideas with public action in a way that set the standard for American theologians' social activism in the years to come.

Edited by Ronald K. Rittgers and Vincent Evener, Protestants and Mysticism in Reformation Europe offers an expansive view of the Protestant reception of medieval mysticism, from the beginnings of the Reformation through the mid-seventeenth century. Providing a foundation and impetus for future research, the chapters in this handbook cover diverse figures from across the Protestant traditions (Lutheran, Reformed, Radical), summarizing existing research, analysing relevant sources, and proposing new directions for study. Each chapter is authored by a leading scholar in the field. Collectively, Protestants and Mysticism in Reformation Europe calls for a comprehensive reassessment of the relationship of Protestantism to its medieval past, to Roman Catholicism, and to the enduring mystical element of Christianity.

The German town of Emden was, in the sixteenth century, the most important haven for exiled Dutch Protestants. In this book, based on unrivalled knowledge of the contemporary archives, Andrew Pettegree explores the role of Emden as a refuge, a training centre and, above all, as the major source of Dutch Protestant propaganda. He also provides a unique and invaluable reconstruction of the output of Emden's famous printing presses. The emergence of an independent state in the Netherlands was accompanied by a transformation in the status of Protestantism from a persecuted sect to the dominant religious force in the new Dutch republic. Dr Pettegree shows how the exile churches, the nurseries of Dutch Calvinism, provided military and financial support for the armies of William of Orange and models of church organization for the new state. Emden and the Dutch Revolt is a major scholarly contribution to our understanding of the origins of the Dutch Republic and the place of Calvinism in the European Reformation.

Highlights Watergate as a critical turning point in Christian engagement in US politics The Watergate scandal was one of the most infamous events in American democratic history. Faith in the government plummeted, leaving the nation feeling betrayed and unsure who could be trusted anymore. In Evil Deeds in High Places, David E. Settje examines how Christian institutions reacted to this moral and ethical collapse, and the ways in which they chose to assert their moral authority. Settje argues that Watergate was a turning point for spurring Christian engagement with politics. While American Christians had certainly already been active in the public sphere, these events motivated a more urgent engagement in response, and served to pave the way for conservatives to push more fully into political power. Historians have carefully analyzed the judicial, media, congressional, and presidential actions surrounding Watergate, but there has been very little consideration of popular reactions of Americans across the political spectrum. Though this book does not aspire to offer a comprehensive picture of America's citizenry, by examining the variety of Protestant Christian experiences-those more conservative, those more liberal, and those in between-and by incorporating analyses of both white and black Christian reactions, it captures a significant swath of the American population at the time, providing one of the only studies to examine how everyday Americans viewed the events of Watergate. Grasping the dynamics of Christian responses to Watergate enables us to comprehend more completely that volatile moment in US history, and provides important context to make sense of reactions to our more recent political turmoil.

Escaping from narrative history, this book takes a deep look at the Catholic question in 18th-century Ireland. It asks how people thought about Catholicism, Protestantism and their society, in order to reassess the content and importance of the religious conflict. In doing this, Dr Cadoc Leighton provides a study which offers thought-provoking ways of looking not only at the 18th century, but at modern Irish history in general. It also places Ireland clearly within the mainstream of European historical developments.

This is more than an expose? of one scandal, in one denomination, it is an autopsy of the politically correct, politically powerful, politically motivated church of today. These pastors (Albert and Aimee Anderson) have done first-class investigation and fine reporting.

This study examines the impact of the first major influx of foreign refugees into Britain--the Protestant exiles of the Reformation era who came to escape persecution by the Catholic powers in France and the Low Countries. The refugees were generally well received by an English government that was aware of their economic potential. They came to exercise a powerful influence over the Reformation at home and abroad and provided a significant economic structure for a flagging economy.

'...a masterly study.' Alister McGrath, Theological Book Review '...a splendid read.' J.J.Scarisbrick, TLS '...profound, witty...of immense value.' David Loades, History Today Historians have always known that the English Reformation was more than a simple change of religious belief and practice. It altered the political constitution and, according to Max Weber, the attitudes and motives which governed the getting and investment of wealth, facilitating the rise of capitalism and industrialisation. This book investigates further implications of the transformative religious changes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for the nation, the town, the family, and for their culture.