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

Quest for a Christian America, 1800–1865: A Social History of the Disciples of Christ, Volume 1 by David Edwin Harrell Jr. is the definitive social history of the early Disciples of Christ and the broader Restoration Movement, one of the most influential religious reform movements in nineteenth-century America. Led by visionary figures such as Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, the movement sought to restore the practices and principles of the early Christian church while promoting unity among believers in a rapidly changing nation.

Moving beyond traditional denominational history, Harrell examines the social, cultural, and political forces that shaped the movement's development between 1800 and the Civil War. He explores how Disciples responded to major issues of the era, including economic growth, reform movements, slavery, sectional conflict, patriotism, pacifism, and the challenges posed by an increasingly modern and diverse society. Through careful analysis, Harrell demonstrates how these concerns influenced both the movement's theology and its vision for a Christian nation.

Quest for a Christian America illuminates the origins of a movement whose descendants include the modern Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Independent Christian Churches, and Churches of Christ. The book offers valuable insight into the relationship between religion, culture, and public life in nineteenth-century America.

The story of one of this country's major religious movements is told through the spiritual odyssey of one of its prominent spokesmen. 

When Homer Hailey sparked controversy within Churches of Christ congregations over his stand on divorce and remarriage, he spoke to a movement already sundered. Historian David Edwin Harrell tells Hailey's story as a means of presenting the larger drama of faith and feuding within those churches.

A nondenominational movement of autonomous congregations, Churches of Christ have been among the fastest-growing religious bodies in the 20th century. Throughout the movement's history, church leaders debated issues ranging from missionary societies to the use of instrumental music in worship. Although some disagreements affected only the ties between congregations, others led to the creation of three distinct groups calling themselves Churches of Christ identified by their sociological and theological positions. 

This book shows how the story of the Churches of Christ is reflected by Homer Hailey, a preacher, educator, and author whose life puts in perspective the personal journeys traveled by members in this century. Writing from the perspective of the non-institutional wing within the movement, Harrell avoids mainstream biases to describe the various dissenting views as fully and fairly as possible.

Combining institutional history and biography, Harrell's book is the first to bring the story of the Churches of Christ to century's end. It provides new insight into how this movement realigned itself and shows how one man's career reflected a century of spiritual growth and change for the church as a whole.