American Religion

For much of American history, evangelicalism was aligned with progressive political causes: nineteenth-century evangelicals fought for the abolition of slavery, universal suffrage, and public education. But contemporary conservative activists have defaulted on this majestic legacy, embracing instead an agenda virtually indistinguishable from the Republican Party platform.

During the mid-seventeenth century, Anglo-American Protestants described Native American ceremonies as savage devilry, Islamic teaching as violent chicanery, and Catholicism as repugnant superstition. By the mid-eighteenth century, they would describe amicable debates between evangelical missionaries and Algonquian religious leaders about the moral appeal of Christianity, recount learned conversations between English merchants and Muslim scholars, and tell of encounters with hospitable and sincere priests in Catholic Canada and Europe. What explains this poignant shift?

On July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man, was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was convicted of plotting what might have been the largest insurrection against slaveholders in US history. Witnesses claimed that Vesey appealed to numerous biblical texts to promote and justify the revolt.

Scholars and popular authors regularly claim that Christianity, at least orthodox Christianity, has fostered oppression and intolerance. A common narrative is that liberty and equality have been advanced primarily when America's leaders embrace progressive manifestations of religion or reject faith altogether. This book demonstrates that Christianity is responsible for advancing liberty and equality for all citizens.

Caregiving is a core value in the African American culture. And African American women of faith often fill that role—for elderly parents, sick children, and other members of their community. Yet no one is fully prepared for the reality of disrupted schedules, unpredictable needs, and many sleepless nights that come with caregiving. Jeanne Porter King shares 90 devotions written from her own experience as a caregiver for her mother to encourage you to take time to care for your whole self.

The belief that Native Americans might belong to the fabled “lost tribes of Israel” - Israelites driven from their homeland around 740 BCE - took hold among Anglo-Americans and Indigenous peoples in the United States during its first half century. In Lost Tribes Found, Matthew W. Dougherty explores what this idea can tell us about religious nationalism in early America.

Like many who will pick up this book, I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I grew up and currently participate in the American Church scene. I have been to churches in shopping plazas, historic towns, major metropolitan areas, suburbs, cultural hubs, bilingual demographics, and much more. While each has its virtues, singing with their own cadence and tempo, it is always the same tune.

The Great Deception of American Christianity Without Christ exposes the condition of the American Church today, which has evolved mostly into a mixture of man-made traditions, false teachings, unscriptural practices, doctrines of demons, hypocrisy, religious superstitions, false prophets, man-made myths, and a money machine. If you have ever wondered if something just doesn't seem right with our American Christianity, then you need to listen to this book.

Is religion disappearing from American life? Less than 50 percent of Americans now hold membership in any religious institution, and even fewer attend worship services. The decline in Christian churches is especially pronounced among the young, cutting across all denominations.

Most people think that money is the key to happiness, but when an ecstatic Nina Lawson wins millions in the Powerball lottery, her world is turned upside down. At first, she and her fiance, Rick, are delighted with the unexpected windfall and immediately begin planning their future. Soon, family members and friends begin coming out of the woodwork to claim a piece of Nina's winnings. But the most unexpected request comes from Todd, Nina's ex-husband.

In World War II, over 12,000 Protestant ministers, Catholic priests, and Jewish rabbis left the safety of home to join the Chaplain Corps, following the armed forces into battle across Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the high seas. These are the personal stories of some of the bravest and most selfless men who served. All of them battled the pain of separation from their own loved ones as they gave some of the best years of their lives to keep the military personnel spiritually awake, morally fit—and prepared to make the journey from this world to the next without fear or despair.

There are moments in life when it comes down to your decision. Whatever you're facing, you know that no one else can bail you out. You have to make the call. Mark Richt, former head football coach at the University of Georgia and the University of Miami and long-time assistant coach at Florida State University, knows a thing or two about making the call.

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was an inner-city pastor, ethics professor, and author of the famous Serenity Prayer. Time magazine's March 8, 1948, cover story called him "the greatest Protestant theologian in America since Jonathan Edwards". Cited as an influence by public figures ranging from Billy Graham to Barack Obama, Niebuhr was described by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as "the most influential American theologian of the 20th century".

The dark-eyed woman in the long, black gown was first seen in the 1970s, standing near a fireplace. She was sad and translucent, present and absent at once. Strange things began to happen in the Santa Fe hotel where she was seen. Gas fireplaces turned off and on without anyone touching a switch. Glasses flew off shelves. And in one second-floor suite with a canopy bed and arched windows looking out to the mountains, guests reported alarming events.

American Zion is the story of the Bundy family, famous for their armed conflicts in the West. With an antagonism that goes back to the very first Mormons who fled the Midwest for the Great Basin, they hold a sense of entitlement that confronts both law and democracy. Today their cowboy confrontations threaten public lands, wild species, and American heritage.

Drawing on his years of reporting, Jenkins examines the reemergence of progressive faith-based activism, detailing its origins and contrasting its goals with those of the religious right. Today’s rapidly expanding interfaith coalition - which includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and other faiths - has become a force within the larger “resistance” movement. Jenkins profiles Washington political insiders as well as a new generation of progressive faith leaders at the forefront today.

Far away from fast food chains and Starbucks coffee, with no access to Amazon Prime or 24-hour fitness centers, experience life set in a simple yet beautiful village in Tanzania, East Africa. In The Absence of Excess, Natasha Brown Watson takes us on a spiritual journey where the heart of God is revealed in the simple truths of this rich African culture and its powerful and authentic Christian tradition.

Faith to Foster is a candid look into the life of ordinary foster parents T.J. and Jenn Menn. It is a journey chronicling their decision-making process, how the children arrived, the birth parents struggle to rehabilitate, help from friends and family, emotional goodbyes, and how faith in Jesus empowered them through it all. TJ and Jenn share their experiences and feelings in a way that encourages any listener to serve their neighbors, not just foster parents. Faith to Foster reminds Christians how God can use them to make a difference in their community.

Millions of American families have turned to The Book of Virtues and The Moral Compass by William J. Bennett for moral guidance in troubled times. Our Sacred Honor offers inspiration and instruction as well -- this time of a particularly American sort.

Bestselling Christian author Michael Phillips believes that the United States is on a collision course toward a new civil war. But a different kind of war. An ideological civil war, growing out of the erosion of virtues that have been the strength of the nation’s relational, spiritual, and ethical fabric for over two hundred years. When this war breaks out, it will cause more chaos and division even than that caused by the political strife of the past two decades. Institutions, families, and churches will be split in ways we cannot yet envision.