Reimagining Denominationalism: Interpretive Essays (Religion in America)

Denominationalism--that ''free market'' mode of organizing religious life which, some say, manages to combine traditional religious claims with a free society in a peculiarly American way--is the subject of the previously unpublished papers in this collection. No institution, the editors argue, is as crucial for the understanding of American religious life, yet so much in need of reassessment as the denomination. In a wide-ranging collection of articles, a distinguished set of commentators on American religion examine the denomination's past and present roles, its definable nature, and its evolution over time. The study of denominations, the authors show, sheds light on broader understandings of American religious and cultural life. The contributors--scholars of the Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mormon, and African-American traditions--explore the state and history of denominational studies in America, suggesting new models and approaches drawn from anthropology, sociology, theology, history, and history of religions. They offer provocative case studies that reimagine denominational studies.

History

Richey, Russell E.

Mullin, Robert Bruce

World

Oxford University Press

Denominationalism--that ''free market'' mode of organizing religious life which, some say, manages to combine traditional religious claims with a free society in a peculiarly American way--is the subject of the previously unpublished papers in this collection. No institution, the editors argue, is as crucial for the understanding of American religious life, yet so much in need of reassessment as the denomination. In a wide-ranging collection of articles, a distinguished set of commentators on American religion examine the denomination's past and present roles, its definable nature, and its evolution over time. The study of denominations, the authors show, sheds light on broader understandings of American religious and cultural life. The contributors--scholars of the Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mormon, and African-American traditions--explore the state and history of denominational studies in America, suggesting new models and approaches drawn from anthropology, sociology, theology, history, and history of religions. They offer provocative case studies that reimagine denominational studies.

The high church movement within the Episcopal Church was antithetical to both the intellectual and social worlds of antebellum America, for it challenged the underlying assumptions of evangelicalism and held itself aloof from reform impulses. This book by Robert Bruce Mullin―the first to study the high church movement from the context of nineteenth-century American culture―discusses how the spiritual descendents of those who harassed the Pilgrims out of England defined themselves in an America that was "the land of the Pilgrims' pride." Mullin discusses the problems that faced the Episcopal Church after the American Revolution, analyzes the intellectual currents in Anglicanism of this period, and sketches the backgrounds of the chief individuals involved with the high church revival―in particular, John Henry Hobart, later bishop of New York. He shows how Hobart's theological and social-alternative synthesis, which called for a radical division between church and state, provoked controversy with evangelical Protestants on issues as diverse as theology, revivalism, temperance, and slavery. Tracing the history of the Episcopal Church from the early nineteenth century, when it was seen as an ark of refuge by critics of the "excesses" of evangelicalism, to 1870, when the antebellum high church synthesis had largely collapsed, Mullin explains its success and subsequent decline. Mullin's examination of the high church movement not only sheds light on the reasons for the flourishing of this alternative social and intellectual vision but also helps to account for the general crisis that confronted all American religious communities at the end of the century. In addition, his reconstruction of the tension between high church Episcopalians and evangelical Protestants provides a new historical perspective from which to view the larger debate over the nature and direction of the antebellum nation.

Episcopal Vision / American Reality: High Church Theology and Social Thought in Evangelical America

Yale University Press

Moneygripe's Apprentice: The Personal Narrative of Samuel Seabury III

Biographies & Memoirs

Regional U.S.

According to surveys, most Americans today believe in miracles. For many others, however, a belief in miracles seems incompatible with a modern world view. Why does interest in miracles persist even in a secular era? Why are miracles such a controversial part of Western religious thinking? In this fascinating book, Robert Bruce Mullin traces the debate about miracles from the Reformation to the twentieth century, focusing particularly on the years from 1860 to 1930. He examines the way preachers, faith healers, psychic researchers, scientists, historians, philosophers, and literary figures have grappled with issues of the miraculous. Before the mid-1800s, the author contends, Catholics had defended post-Biblical miracles, while Protestants insisted true miracles were limited to the Biblical era. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, the Protestant position had largely collapsed, and two opposing views emerged in its wake. Some Protestants wished to jettison all miracles―even those recorded in the Bible. Others took a new interest in modern miracles, believing that the presence of miracles could help ground contemporary religious faith. This transformation in attitudes toward miracles not only changed the Anglo-American religious landscape and created a new focus of debate, Mullin says, it also opened up a new basis for accord between Protestants and Catholics.

Miracles and the Modern Religious Imagination

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

In this highly readable volume, Robert Bruce Mullin surveys the rise and spread of Christianity throughout the world. Global in focus and covering the expanse of Christian history, the book unveils the challenges that Christianity has faced throughout the centuries.

A Short World History of Christianity

Westminster/John Knox Press

Church historians have long known and appreciated Christianity's global history. Until recently, however, introductory textbooks on the history of Christianity focused almost exclusively on Europe and North America. Robert Bruce Mullins's A Short World History of Christianity, by contrast, offers a panoramic picture of the history of Christianity in its Western and non-Western expressions. It tells the story of the early church in the Greek East as well as the Latin West; of Christianity's spread into Asia as well as Europe during the Middle Ages; and its explosion around the world during the modern period. Mullins's highly readable narrative explores why global perspectives have emerged so strongly in our understanding of the story of Christianity and how they have impacted Christianity's perspective on its place in the world. 
This newly revised edition adds information on such global phenomena as early Syriac-speaking Christianity; the growth of Pentecostalism around the world, especially in the southern hemisphere; and recent trends in Christianity, including the elevation of the first pope born in the Americas. A time line of key dates, call-out boxes, and other helpful study materials are also provided. Beginning students will appreciate this memorable introduction to the most important events in the history and development of Christianity.

A Short World History of Christianity, Revised Edition

This work is based on Sydney Ahlstrom's 1951 Harvard dissertation. The biography of Francis Ellingwood Abbot has been completely rewritten to focus on the context of his life and, as such, provides a vista into the intellectual and religious world of America in the late nineteenth century. Ahlstrom and one of his former students, Robert Bruce Mullin, began reworking the dissertation in 1983. The authors chronicle Abbot's early life and education, in particular those elements that reveal the social world of antebellum Unitarianism. He was a child of propert Boston Unitarianism, trained at the Boston Latin School and Harvard College. In the preface, Mullin states, "No one reflected better than Abbot the assumptions of morality, order, and sober piety - tempered by the poetic spirit of romanticism - that constituted the world of antebellum Unitarianism." But Abbot was not content to settle for the lush Victorian sentimental piety of his age and was thus deemed a "radical." Abbot struggled with many of the same issues that we are faced with today - the reconciliation of science and religion, reason and revelation, and obscenity and censorship. In direct response to Darwin's Origin of the Species, he was driven by the need to reconcile religion and science. he concluded that only by grounding religion in the new scientific method could it again be anchored in truth. As a representative figure of Victorian radicalism, Abbot present an essential perspective for understanding that period. Furthermore, a keen sense for the important issues and their timeliness makes this book especially important for historians, theologians, philosophers, and students.

Scientific Theist: A Life of Francis Ellingwood Abbot

Ahlstrom, Sydney E.

Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts

Mercer Univ Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mullin, Robert Bruce. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mullin, Robert Bruce

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mullin, Robert Bruce. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Reimagining Denominationalism: Interpretive Essays (Religion in America)

Reimagining Denominationalism: Interpretive Essays (Religion in America)

Episcopal Vision / American Reality: High Church Theology and Social Thought in Evangelical America

Moneygripe's Apprentice: The Personal Narrative of Samuel Seabury III

Miracles and the Modern Religious Imagination

A Short World History of Christianity

A Short World History of Christianity, Revised Edition

Scientific Theist: A Life of Francis Ellingwood Abbot