American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism

476 Pages·2014·3.15 MB·English

by  Matthew Avery Sutton

AMERICAN APOCALYPSE

AMERICAN APOCALYPSE
A History of Modern Evangelicalism
MATTHEW AVERY SUTTON
THE BELKNAP PRESS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, Massachusetts | London, Eng land 2014
Copyright © 2014 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-P ublication Data
Sutton, Matthew Avery, 1975-
American apocalypse : a history of modern evangelicalism / Matthew
Avery Sutton.
pages cm
Includes biblographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-674-04836-2 (alk. paper)
1. Evangelicalism—History. 2. United States—Church history—20th
century. I. Title.
BR1640.S88 2014
277.3'082—dc23
2014014034
To Kristen

CONTENTS
Preface ix
Prologue 1
1. Jesus Is Coming 8
2. Global War and Christian Nationalism 47
3. The Birth of Fundamentalism 79
4. The Culture Wars Begin 114
5. American Education on Trial 148
6. Seeking Salvation with the GOP 178
7. The Rise of the Tyrants 207
8. Christ’s Deal versus the New Deal 232
9. Reviving American Exceptionalism 263
10. Becoming Cold Warriors for Christ 293
11. Apocalypse Now 326
Epilogue 367
Abbreviations 377
Notes 381
Ac know ledgm ents 437
Index 441

PREFACE
Ernest Sandeen opened his groundbreaking book The Roots of Fun-
damentalism (1970) by noting that ever since fundamentalism’s “rise to
notoriety in the 1920s, scholars have predicted the imminent demise of
the movement. The Fundamentalists, to return the favor, have pre-
dicted the speedy end of the world. Neither prophecy has so far been
fulfi lled.” How things have changed since he penned those words.
While many fundamentalists and evangelicals continue to predict the
speedy end of the world, we no longer expect the fundamentalist-
orchestrated revival of radical evangelical religion to dissipate anytime
soon. Instead, journalists, historians, sociologists, and pol iti cal scientists
have labored to explain its infl uence on American religious life as well
as its staying power.
This book draws on a lively cast of characters and extensive archival
research to document the ways an initially obscure group of charis-
matic preachers and their followers have reshaped American religion,
at home and abroad, for over a century. Perceiving the United States as
besieged by satanic forces—c ommunism and secularism, family break-
down and government encroachment— Billy Sunday, Charles Fuller,
Billy Graham, and many others took to the pulpit and airwaves to