Evangelical Vs. Liberal

Evangelical Vs. Liberal

The cultural conflict that increasingly divides American society is particularly evident within Protestant Christianity. Liberals and evangelicals clash in bitter competition for the future of their respective subcultures. In this book, James Wellman examines this conflict as it is played out in the American Northwest. Drawing on an in-depth study of twenty-four of the area's fastest-growing evangelical churches and ten vital liberal Protestant congregations, Wellman captures the leading trends of each group and their interaction with the wider American culture. He finds a remarkable depth of disagreement between the two groups on almost every front. Where evangelicals are willing to draw sharp lines on gay marriage and abortion, liberals complain about evangelical self-righteousness and disregard for personal freedoms. Liberals prefer the moral power of inclusiveness, while evangelicals frame their moral stances as part of a metaphysical struggle between good and evil. The entrepreneurial nature of evangelicalism translates into support of laissez-faire capitalism and democratic political advocacy. Liberals view both policies with varying degrees of apprehension. Such differences are significant on a national scale, with implications for the future of American Protestantism in particular and American culture in general. Both groups act in good faith and with good intentions, and each maintains a moral core that furthers its own identity, ideology, ritual, mission, and politics. In some situations, they share similar attitudes despite having different beliefs. Attending church services and interviewing senior pastors, lay leaders and new members, Wellman is able to provide new insights into the convenient categories of "liberal" and "evangelical," the nature of the conflict, and the myriad ways both groups affect and are affected by American culture. Review " Evangelical vs. Liberal provides an invaluable view of the rapidly shifting tectonic plates of American Protestantism today." --Mark Silk, Director, The Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life "We know that the Pacific Northwest is the least traditionally religious part of the U.S. Fewer people belong to or attend church than anywhere else. And yet, there are thriving congregations there. Using interviews, focus groups, and participant observation, James Wellman explores the lives and fortunes of about three dozen Protestant congregations, examining their moral worldviews and organizational practices, and finding that while the liberals and evangelicals are quite different from each other -- and work at keeping that distinction clear -- both groups have found ways to prosper in the 'None zone.'" --Rhys H. Williams, Professor of Sociology, University of Cincinnati, and Editor for Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion About the Author James K. Wellman, Jr. is Associate Professor and Chair of the Comparative Religion department, University of Washington, and an ordained Presbyterian minister. He is the author of The Gold Church and the Ghetto: Christ and Culture in Mainline Protestantism.