ABOUT THIS BOOK

The definitive social history of the Disciples of Christ in the 19th century

The Disciples of Christ, led by reformers such as Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, was one of a number of early-19th-century primitivist religious movements seeking to “restore the ancient order of things.” The Disciples movement was little more than a loose collection of independent congregations until the middle of the 19th century, but by 1900 three clear groupings of churches had appeared. Today, more than 5 million Americans—members of the modern-day Disciples of Christ (Christian Church), Independent Christian Churches, and Churches of Christ, among others—trace their religious heritage to this “Restoration Movement.”

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

David Edwin Harrell is Breeden Eminent Scholar in the Humanities at Auburn University and the author of six books on American religious history.

REVIEWS

“According to Harrell, sociological factors, not religious norms, determined ultimately how most Disciples responded to industrialism and an ever-increasing secularism in American society.”
—American Historical Review
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“[Harrell] writes with clarity, vividness, and an eloquence all too rare in contemporary historians. This is the way in which denominational history ought to be written.”
—Church History
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Preface to the 2003 Edition                       000
Preface                                           000
Acknowledgments                                   000
Table of Periodical Abbreviations                 000
I The Setting                                     1
II The Mind of a Movement                         26
III An American Economic Gospel                   62
IV Slavery and Sectionalism--An Entering Wedge    91
V Pacifism and Patriotism--The Cleavage Deepens   139
VI The Christian and the World                    175
VII The Residue of Reform                         200
VIII The Quest                                    222
Bibliography                                      225
Index                                             245
 

Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Disciples of Christ History