What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear evangelical
? For many, the answer is white,
patriarchal,
conservative,
or fundamentalist
-but as the author reveals, the big tent
of evangelicalism has historically been much bigger than we've been led to believe. This book brings to light the stories of those twentieth-century evangelicals who didn't fit the mold, including Black, feminist, progressive, and gay Christians. Though the binary of fundamentalist evangelicals and modernist mainline Protestants is taken for granted today, this text demonstrates that fundamentalists and modernists battled over the title of evangelical
in post-World War II America. In fact, many ideologies characteristic of evangelicalism today, such as biblical womanhood
and political conservatism, arose only in reaction to the popularity of evangelical feminism and progressivism. Eventually, history was written by the winners
-the Billy Grahams of American religion-while the losers
were expelled from the movement via the establishment of institutions such as the National Association of Evangelicals. Carefully researched and deftly written, this work offers a breath of fresh air for scholars seeking a more inclusive history of religion in America.