From Publishers Weekly
Award-winning church historian Noll (The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind) offers a serviceable and workmanlike introduction to the history of Christianity in North America, primarily the United States. Like other books of this kind (e.g., Sydney Ahlstrom's A Religious History of the American People), Noll's traces the chronological development from the colonial years up until the last year of the 20th century of Christianity after it moved into North America. He provides sketches of events such as the First and Second Great Awakenings, the rise of denominationalism and the beginnings of the Pentecostal movement in the late 19th century. Noll contends that four elements space, race and ethnicity, pluralism, and the absence of confessional conservatism combined to distinguish North American Christianity from its European origins. Although his book focuses mainly on the United States, Noll offers a brief overview of the history of Christianity in Canada and Mexico. As he gazes into the future of American churches, he volunteers some already well-worn predictions: denominations will continue to erode because Christians will keep seeking community based on shared theological convictions; Pentecostalism will continue to move beyond its institutional setting to pervade a number of diverse Christian communities; the number of Roman Catholics will continue to rise. There are more detailed surveys of American Christianity available, but Noll offers an up-to-date history that explores the contemporary scene and provides some idea of how we got here. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Noll (McManus Professor of Christian Thought, Wheaton Coll.) is the author of the comprehensive A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. In this shorter work for students and lay readers, he presents both a chronological history and an interpretive analysis of North American Christianity. He is most interested in emphasizing the aspects of that faith that set it apart from its European strain. Interspersed among the chapters of straightforward, well-balanced historical information are insightful interpretive essays dealing with issues like the separation of church and state. The author suggests that the whole American experience, including such aspects as slavery, immigration, and revivalism, has produced a unique and robust form of Christianity readily recognizable even across denominational boundaries. Including helpful notes for further study, this clear overview of a complex subject is recommended for public and academic libraries. C. Robert Nixon, MLS, Lafayette, IN Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Noll upholds his reputation for clear, accessible prose and admirably organizing mountains of historical material in this addition to the crowded shelf of histories of Christianity in the U.S. (Although he touches on Canada and Mexico, the North American scope promised in the subtitle remains, as he acknowledges, more promise than reality.) The book's pedigree sets it apart. It grew out of a volume on North America that Noll wrote for a German series on church history, a book that itself was in part an abridgment of material in Noll's massive History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (1992). Noll says that "outside observers help Americans see the alternative Christian paths to which the American religious situation can lead." Having written the basis of this book for such observers helps it toward a similar disclosure of alternatives as Noll concludes a largely Protestant story with appendixes showing that U.S. membership in the Roman Catholic Church is almost four times larger than that of the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. Steven Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

SYNOPSIS

With some exceptions, Noll (Christian thought, Wheaton College, Illinois) focuses on the chronological development of Christianity in the United States, although he does include a comparative chapter on Canada and Mexico. Synthesizing the work of other scholars, Noll describes the activities and beliefs of major sects of Christianity, looks at important events such as the Great Awakenings and the involvement of the Black Southern Baptists in the Civil Rights movement, and discusses how some American non-Christians related to Christianity. After the chronological treatment, a few chapters are devoted to such broad issues as the differences between North American and European theologies and religious lives, as well as the day-to-day lives of American Christians. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Award-winning church historian Noll (The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind) offers a serviceable and workmanlike introduction to the history of Christianity in North America, primarily the United States. Like other books of this kind (e.g., Sydney Ahlstrom's A Religious History of the American People), Noll's traces the chronological development from the colonial years up until the last year of the 20th century of Christianity after it moved into North America. He provides sketches of events such as the First and Second Great Awakenings, the rise of denominationalism and the beginnings of the Pentecostal movement in the late 19th century. Noll contends that four elements space, race and ethnicity, pluralism, and the absence of confessional conservatism combined to distinguish North American Christianity from its European origins. Although his book focuses mainly on the United States, Noll offers a brief overview of the history of Christianity in Canada and Mexico. As he gazes into the future of American churches, he volunteers some already well-worn predictions: denominations will continue to erode because Christians will keep seeking community based on shared theological convictions; Pentecostalism will continue to move beyond its institutional setting to pervade a number of diverse Christian communities; the number of Roman Catholics will continue to rise. There are more detailed surveys of American Christianity available, but Noll offers an up-to-date history that explores the contemporary scene and provides some idea of how we got here. (Dec.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal