During the Progessive Era, a period of unprecedented ingenuity, women evangelists built the old time religion with brick and mortar, uniforms and automobiles, fresh converts and devoted proteges. Across America, entrepreneurial women founded churches, denominations, religious training schools, rescue homes, rescue missions, and evangelistic organizations.
Until now, these intrepid women have gone largely unnoticed, though their collective yet unchoreographed decision to build institutions in the service of evangelism marked a seismic shift in American Christianity. In this ground-breaking study, Priscilla Pope-Levison dusts off the unpublished letters, diaries, sermons, and yearbooks of these pioneers to share their personal tribulations and public achievements.
The effect is staggering. With an uncanny eye for essential details and a knack for historical nuance, Pope-Levison breathes life into not just one or two of these women - but two dozen. The evangelistic empire of Aimee Semple McPherson represents the pinnacle of this shift from itinerancy to institution building.
Her name remains legendary. Yet she built her institutions on the foundation of the work of women evangelists who preceded her. Their stories - untold until now - reveal the cunning and strength of women who forged a path for every generation, including our own, to follow. Priscilla Pope-Levison is Professor of Theology and Assistant Director of Women's Studies at Seattle Pacific University.
Her previous books include Sex, Gender, and Christianity; Turn the Pulpit Loose: Two Centuries of American Women Evangelists; Return to Babel: Global Perspectives on the Bible; Jesus in Global Contexts; and Evangelization in a Liberation Perspective. Review: Argues that historians have ignored the significant number of independent religious organizations founded by evangelical and Catholic women in the progressive era.
This institution-building by progressive-era women was fundamental to reshaping American Christianity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as it moved from 'itinerant to institutional revivalism.' A great strength of this work is to bring to the fore stories that are either not as well known as they need to be, or not known at all, a testament to the huge amount of archival research done by the author.
This will be a significant contribution to American religious history. -Paul Harvey,University of Colorado Brings to life a series of fascinating, charismatic, and innovative women religious leaders. Priscilla Pope-Levison's careful research, engaging narrative, and smart arguments make this an invaluable study for scholars in the fields of religion, gender, and the progressive era, as well as for general readers interested in the ways in which women have transformed American religious life. -Matthew Avery Sutton,author of Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America Priscilla Pope-Levison's lively account takes our understanding of gender and American religion to the next level, demonstrating the permanent impact of women on the institutional shape of twentieth-century Christianity.
She introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, high-profile female evangelists and lesser-known toilers who founded schools, hospitals, and even denominations on a shoe-string. The women Pope-Levison brings to life are a colorful - and essential - piece of the larger story of religion in the United States. -Margaret Bendroth,Executive Director, Congregational Library Draws on previously unpublished letters, diaries, and other sources to discuss female founders of churches, missions, schools and other institutions -Chronicle of Higher Education
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