Study Questions
Steven P. Miller
The Age of Evangelicalism: America's Born-Again Years
- What is this book about? How is its approach different from many other
books on recent evangelicalism? Why does it reject the idea of an evangelical
subculture?
- Why were the Seventies so central to understanding the rise of
evangelicalism? What was the influence of the Watergate scandal? Describe
the effects of evangelical growth and the Jesus Movement in the early '70s.
How did evangelicalism become so prominent in 1970s culture?
- Who were the evangelical Left of the 1970s and what were their hopes?
Describe the significance of Jimmy Carter's candidacy for president. Explain
Francis Schaeffer's influence on the rise of conservative religious
activism. How did a conservative evangelical agenda emerge?
- Identify Jerry Falwell. Describe the rapid appearance of the Christian
Right. Describe Ronald Reagan's relationship with evangelicals. How was
rightwing evangelicalism controversial in the early 1980s? Explain the
satanism panic and the televangelical scandals of the era.
- Describe the impact and significance of Richard John Neuhaus's The
Naked Public Square and James Davison Hunter's Culture Wars.
Who were the "thoughtful evangelicals" and what was their critique? How did
the commodification of evangelicalism produce an evangelical pop culture?
Describe the rise of the Christian Coalition, the Promise Keepers, and
Habitat for Humanity and their significance.
- Describe George W. Bush's faith and relationship with evangelicals. How
did his election politicize evangelicals like they hadn't been since the
early 1980s? Identify such markers of evangelical pop culture in the early
2000s like "WWJD," "purpose-driven," Left Behind, and The
Passion of Christ. How had evangelical excesses started the movement's
decline as early as Bush's second term?
- Describe the re-emergence of the evangelical left with such figures as
Rich Warren and Jim Wallis. Describe Barack Obama's religious background and
beliefs. How did he benefit from the religious mood of 2008? What was the
state of the religious right during Obama's terms in office?
- Why does the author believe we have come to the end of the Age of
Evangelicalism?
Last updated:
Monday, November 20, 2017 08:54 AM