Turning Points in American Church History

Elesha J. Coffman (PhD, Duke University) is associate professor of history at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She previously served as the editor of Christian History magazine and has taught at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. She spent a year as a fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. Coffman is the author of The Christian Century and the Rise of the Protestant Mainline, Margaret Mead: A Twentieth-Century Faith, and numerous articles on American religious history.

• Foreword by Mark A. NollIntroduction1. The Old World Order UpendedThe Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 15882. The Limits of Religious FreedomRoger Williams Banished from Massachusetts, 16353. A Collision of CulturesKing Philip's War, 1675-764. Evangelicalism Sweeps AmericaGeorge Whitefield Sparks the First Great Awakening, 17405. A Faith for Enslaved and FreeFirst African American Church Founded at Silver Bluff, South Carolina, 17736. Far from RomeJohn Carroll Elected First Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States, 17897. The Benevolent EmpireAmerican Bible Society Founded, 18168. Houses DividedMethodist Church Splits over Slavery, 18449. Muscular MissionsStudent Volunteer Movement Launched, 188610. Los Angeles FireAzusa Street Revival Catalyzes Pentecostalism, 190611. Science versus Religion?The Scopes "Monkey" Trial, 192512. Civil Rights and Uncivil ReligionSixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing, Birmingham, 196313. Religion Moves RightRonald Reagan Elected President, 1980ConclusionIndex