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Evangelicalism in America. By Randall Balmer. Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press, 2016.Pp. xvi + 199. $24.99 hardcover.
The election of Donald Trump reignited discussion on the nature of American conservatism. Right-wing politics seems to have a new lease on life. Thus, the role of evangelical Christianity in the public sphere is also up for debate. Randall Balmer S Evangelicalism in America Christianity is fitting for this task, offering a foray into evangelicalism's role in shaping American culture. The author looks at specific aspects of American society to evaluate the impact evangelicalism on the nation. He provides insight into how this version of Christianity constituted the driving force behind landmark developments and how the movement has changed over the past two centuries.
Rather than organize these individual vignettes around a discrete thesis, the author allows each chapter to reflect characteristics of evangelicalism. Balmer defines an evangelical as someone who accepts three key points of faith-the Bible as the revelation of God, the primacy of conversion, and the necessity of proselytizing. Fundamentalism, neoevangelicalism, the holiness movement, and Pentecostalism make up the current major divisions. From this foundation, chapters one and two build a sweeping historical overview, positioning religion as a critical pillar in America and then placing evangelicalism at the base of that column. Christianity served both as a conservative and progressive force. It stabilized an emerging society by redirecting disruptive forces away from politics and into religion, thanks to the novel...