The American Church Experience: A Concise History

A welcome addition to the ongoing reflection on the meaning of religion in America. The authors are both responsible as scholars and accessible as writers. Teachers students clergy and laity will find this book worthwhile. It deserves a wide reading. -- Ronald A. Wells Professor of History Calvin College; editor Fides et Historia This is a most welcome update of the first textbook survey of American church history. The American Church Experience retains all the virtues of the original--brevity clarity and evenhandedness--while incorporating recent historical developments and contemporary historical scholarship. --Michael S. Hamilton Associate Professor of History Seattle Pacific University Specialists and general readers alike should welcome this valuable new resource in American religious history. I certainly plan to recommend it to my students. --Garth M. Rosell Professor of Church History and Director of the Ockenga Institute at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Captures the ebb and flow of religious history in a scholarly and precise way while retaining a highly readable quality. Students will be challenged and laypeople will be informed about Americas fascinating religious heritage. This book is a must for the pastors study and for the church library. --Ruth A. Tucker author of From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions Tom Askew and Dick Pierard provide a lively and succinct account of the origins expansion and struggles of the faith in America. Their analyses are enhanced by commendable balance and a healthy global perspective. This volume will prove to be an excellent resource for church study groups as well as for undergraduate and seminary classes. --James A. Patterson Professor of Christian Studies Union University Thomas A. Askew is Stephen Phillips Professor of History Emeritus and the former executive director of the East-West Institute of International Studies at Gordon College. He is the coauthor or editor of five books relating to religious educational and political themes. Richard V. Pierard is Professor of History Emeritus at Indiana State University and a former scholar-in-residence at Gordon College. He is a member of the Baptist History and Identity Commission of the Baptist World Alliance and the author of numerous books and articles relating to the history of Christianity.