Over the last few election cycles evangelicals have had to think seriously about their opposition to gay marriage. As homosexuality and gay marriage have become more culturally acceptable, evangelicals have been forced to contemplate their opposition to gay marriage in a way that was not necessary when homosexuality remained outside the bounds of acceptable political discourse. Several states–most recently Minnesota on May 21–have considered legislation which would codify heterosexual marriage and prohibit homosexual marriage or civil unions. A large majority of observant evangelicals believe that homosexuality is a sin and that gay marriage should not be legal (83% and 85%). Interestingly, evangelicals are less opposed to civil unions (67%). That statistically significant difference needs explanation.
Posts Tagged ‘Evangelicalism’
The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond / Randall Balmer
In Books on 11 October 2010 at 5:49 pm
Balmer, Randall. The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2010. 89 pages. ISBN 1602582432
In his previous work, Randall Balmer—professor of American religious history at Barnard College, Columbia University—has expertly woven highly readable historical chronicle with thoughtful, provocative critique. His latest book, The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond, is no exception; in it, Balmer offers a concise survey of the relationship between evangelicalism and American culture since the 18th century that, while not without flaw, demonstrates his expertise as a historian and his insight as a critic.
Balmer structures The Making of Evangelicalism around four “turning points” in the history of the movement: (1) the transition from a Calvinist to an Arminian theology; (2) the turn from postmillennialism to premillennialism; (3) the construction of an isolationist evangelical subculture at the beginning of the twentieth century; and (4) the rise of the Religious Right. At each of these critical junctures, he argues, evangelicals dramatically re-aligned (either consciously or unconsciously) their beliefs and attitudes. Balmer peppers the study with what he calls “counterfactual speculation”—what-if questions that provide “ample opportunity to imagine a different course” for the evangelical movement (p. 2). Read the rest of this entry »
