Early Evangelicalism

Early evangelicalism flourished during the transatlantic revivals of the eighteenth century coinciding with the emergence of the Enlightenment in America and Europe. Today most people associate it with only a few of its leaders-namely Jonathan Edwards John Wesley and GeorgeWhitefield-despite the fact that this religious movement crossed nations as well as different traditions within Christianity. Those responsible for the growth of evangelicalism were Anglicans Baptists Congregationalists Methodists Moravians and Presbyterians and could be found in America Canada Great Britain and Western Europe. They published hymns historical works poems political pamphlets revival accountssermons and theological treatises. There are also records of their conversion experiences and diaries that chronicle their spiritual development. Jonathan M. Yeager''s anthology introduces a host of important religious figures providing biographical sketches of each author and over sixty excerptsfrom a wide range of well-known and lesser-known Protestant Christians. Early Evangelicalism: A Reader promises to be the most comprehensive sourcebook of its kind.