Blessed Assurance: A History of Evangelicalism in America

Written with insight and erudition, this is the first complete story of how so many religious movements arose in America and how they affect our politics and culture. Randall Balmer looks at the rise of evangelical groups from Methodists to the Disciples of Christ, charismatic leaders from Mary Baker Eddy to Jimmy Swaggart, and the meanings of beliefs from the "ideal of femininity" to the Apocalypse. He shows us the many forms"some surprising, all illuminating" American evangelical religion has taken since the very beginning of our nation: nineteenth-century spiritualists repeating the Lord's Prayer, Christian Scientists blending Hinduism with positive thinking, and Catholics adopting New Age rituals. Here, too, is revelatory insight into how evangelical movements are always in tune with their times, taking advantage of mass communication and the charisma of their leaders.

In a nation where ninety-four percent of the people believe in God and ninety percent say they pray once a week, Balmer's fascinating book centers on the basic character of our nation - a nation with its roots in Puritan religious dissent, First Amendment protections, and a culture of creative individualism.