Matthew Bowman explores the world of a neglected group of American Christians: self-identified liberal evangelicals who began in the late nineteenth century to reconcile traditional evangelical spirituality with progressive views on social activism and theological questions. These evangelicals emphasized both the importance of supernatural conversion experience, but also argued that science, art, and relieving the poverty created by a new industrial economy could facilitate encounters with Christ. The Urban Pulpit chronicles the struggle of liberal evangelicals against conservative Protestants, who questioned their theological sincerity, and against secular reformers, who grew increasingly devoted to the cause of cultural pluralism and increasingly suspicious of evangelicals over the course of the twentieth century. Liberal evangelicals walked a difficult path, facing increasing polarization in twentieth-century American public life: both conservative evangelicals and secular reformers insisted that religion and science, and evangelical Christianity and cultural diversity, were necessarily at odds. Liberal evangelicals rejected such simple dichotomies, but nonetheless found defending their middle way increasingly difficult. Drawing on history, anthropology, and religious studies, Bowman paints a complex portrait of a group of religious believers at work, at worship, and engaged in advocacy in the public square.

A Publishers Weekly Best Religion Book of the Year A Choice Outstanding Academic Title For many Americans, being Christian is central to their political outlook. Political Christianity is most often associated with the Religious Right, but the Christian faith has actually been a source of deep disagreement about what American society and government should look like. While some identify Christianity with Western civilization and unfettered individualism, others have maintained that Christian principles call for racial equality, international cooperation, and social justice. At once incisive and timely, Christian delves into the intersection of faith and political identity and offers an essential reconsideration of what it means to be Christian in America today. "Bowman is fast establishing a reputation as a significant commentator on the culture and politics of the United States." -Church Times "Bowman looks to tease out how religious groups in American history have defined, used, and even wielded the word Christian as a means of understanding themselves and pressing for their own idiosyncratic visions of genuine faith and healthy democracy." -Christian Century "A fascinating examination of the twists and turns in American Christianity, showing that the current state of political/religious alignment was not necessarily inevitable, nor even probable." -Deseret News

An all-encompassing look at a one of the fastest growing religions in the world, Mormonism. By pulling back the curtain - from the origins in the 1820s to the current standing of the Church of Latter Day Saints - it explores the history of this nativeborn American faith and its connection to the life of the nation.