Avenues of Faith documents how religion flourished in southern cities after the turn of the century and how a cadre of clergy and laity created a notably progressive religious culture in Richmond, the bastion of the Old South. Famous as the former capital of the Confederacy, Richmond emerges as a dynamic and growing industrial city invigorated by the social activism of its Protestants.

By examining six mainline white denominations-Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Disciples of Christ, and Lutherans-Samuel C. Shepherd Jr. emphasizes the extent to which the...

Modernity remade much of the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and was nowhere more transformational than in the American South. In the wake of the Civil War, the region not only formed new legal, financial, and social structures, but citizens of the South also faced disorienting uncertainty about personal identity and even gender itself. Ye That Are Men Now Serve Him traces the changes in southern gender roles during the New South period of 1877-1915 and demonstrates that religion is the key to perceiving how constructions of gender changed.

The Civil War...

John Macaulay's model study of Unitarianism in the antebellum south reestablishes the denomination's position as an influential religious movement in the early history of the region. By looking at benevolent societies, lay meetings, professional and civic activity, ecumenical interchange, intellectual forums, business partnerships, literary correspondence, friendships, and other associations in which southern Unitarians were engaged with other southerners on a daily basis, Macaulay sees a much greater Unitarian presence than has been previously recognized. Instead of relying on a count of...

In this compelling account, William Harrison Taylor examines the interdenominational pursuits of the American Presbyterian Church from 1758 to 1801 to highlight the church's ambitious agenda of fostering and uniting a host of New World values, among them Christendom, nationalism, and territorial exceptionalism.

In Unity in Christ and Country: American Presbyterians in the Revolutionary Era, 1758-1801, William Harrison Taylor investigates the American Presbyterian Church's pursuit of Christian unity and demonstrates how, through this effort, the church helped to shape the...

Richmond's Priests and Prophets examines Richmond, Virginia, during the 1940s and 1950s, exploring the ways in which white Christian leaders navigated the shifting legal and political battles around desegregation even as members of their congregations struggled with their own understanding of a segregated society.

Douglas E. Thompson's Richmond's Priests and Prophets: Race, Religion, and Social Change in the Civil Rights Era presents a compelling study of religious leaders' impact on the political progression of Richmond, Virginia, during the time of desegregation....

Examines the history of African American Baptists and Methodists of the early twentieth century. By presenting African American Protestantism in the context of white Protestant fundamentalism, this study demonstrates that African American Protestants were acutely aware of the manner in which white Christianity operated and how they could use that knowledge to justify social change.

A full-length study of the influential role Tichenor played in shaping both the Baptist denomination and southern culture. Michael E. Williams provides a comprehensive analysis of Tichenor's life, examining the overall impact of his life and work. This volume also documents the methodologies Tichenor used to rally Southern Baptist support around its struggling Home Mission Board.