Heads up on key new books in American and global religious history

Heads up on key new books in American and global religious history October 12, 2015

Over at the Christian Century, Philip Jenkins and Grant Wacker offer suggestions for some key new books on American and global religious history.  One of the most tantalizing, co-edited by my friends Perry Glanzer and Joel Carpenter, is Christian Higher Education: A Global Reconnaisancewhich seeks to give a global map of the recent development of Christian higher education. The growth of Christianity in the Global South has seen parallel developments in the world of Christian colleges and seminaries.

Another intriguing title is Stephen Berry’s A Path in the Mighty Waters: Shipboard Life and Atlantic Crossings to the New World. We had Dr. Berry down for a Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion symposium on George Whitefield last fall. Although his title does not mention religion, astute readers might note that first phrase comes from Isaiah 43:16. Berry’s book details the religious interactions of figures such as Whitefield and John Wesley with passengers of other faith traditions, including German Moravians and English Quakers.

It turns out that my Baylor graduate seminar is reading Berry’s book for class tomorrow, so I have a particular interest in his fascinating approach right now.

Check out the rest of the books suggested by Wacker and Jenkins.


Browse Our Archives