The Church in the Long Eighteenth Century (The I.B.Tauris History of the Christian Church)

Winner of the 2012 American Society of Church History AlbertOutler Prize David Hempton's history of the vibrant period between1650 and 1832 engages with a truly global story: that ofChristianity not only in Europe and North America, but also inLatin America, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe, India, China, andSouth-East Asia. Examining eighteenth-century religious thought inits sophisticated national and social contexts, the author relatesthe narrative of the Church to the rise of religious enthusiasmpioneered by Pietists, Methodists, Evangelicals and Revivalists,and by important leaders like August Hermann Francke, JonathanEdwards and John Wesley. He places special emphasis on attempts bythe Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and British seaborne powersto export imperial conquest, commerce and Christianity to allcorners of the planet. This leads to discussion of the significanceof Catholic and Protestant missions, including those of theJesuits, Moravians and Methodists. Particular attention is given toChristianity's impact on the African slave populations of theCaribbean Islands and the American colonies, which created one ofthe most enduring religious cultures in the modern world.Throughout the volume changes in Christian belief and practice arerelated to wider social trends, including rapid urban growth, theearly stages of industrialization, the spread of literacy, and thechanging social construction of gender, families andidentities.