Yale University Library Research Guides: American Religious History: US Religious History

Great Awakening

Sarah Osborn's World: The Rise of Evangelical Christianity in Early America (Online) by Catherine A. Brekus Recovers the largely forgotten story of Sarah Osborn's life as one of the most charismatic female religious leaders of her time, while also connecting her captivating story to the rising evangelical movement in eighteenth-century America.
George Whitefield (Online) by Thomas S. Kidd A biography that explores the extraordinary career of the most influential figure in the first generation of Anglo-American evangelical Christianity, examining his sometimes troubling stands on the pressing issues of the day, both secular and spiritual, and his relationships with such famous contemporaries as Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley.
Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England (Online) by Douglas L. Winiarski This sweeping history of popular religion in eighteenth-century New England examines the experiences of ordinary people living through extraordinary times of lay piety of the early eighteenth century.

The End of Days: African American Religion and Politics in the Age of Emancipation (Online) by Matthew Harper Demonstrates how black southerners' theology, in particular their understanding of the end times, influenced nearly every major economic and political decision they made in the aftermath of emancipation. African American Protestants consistently inserted themselves into biblical narratives as a way of seeing the importance of their own struggle in God's greater plan for humanity.
Slave Religion (Online) by Albert J. Raboteau Twenty-five years after its original publication, Slave Religion remains a classic in the study of African American history and religion. Analyzes the transformation of the African religions into evangelical Christianity.
Soul Liberty: The Evolution of Black Religious Politics in Post-Emancipation Virginia (Online) by Nicole Myers Turner Challenges the idea of black churches as having always been politically engaged. Shows reveals how freed people in Virginia adapted strategies for pursuing the freedom of their souls to worship as they saw fit--and to participate in society completely in the evolving landscape of emancipation.

Religion and the American Revolution (Online) by Katherine Carté Demonstrates that if religion helped set the terms through which Anglo-Americans encountered the imperial crisis and the violence of war, it likewise set the terms through which both nations could imagine the possibilities of a new world.
Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of the Religious Founding (Online) by Steven K. Green Shows that the idea that the United States was founded as a Christian nation is mostly a myth.
God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (Online) by Thomas S. Kidd Argues that the improbable partnership of evangelicals and Deists saw America through the Revolutionary War, the ratification of the Constitution, and the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800.
They Knew They Were Pilgrims : Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty (Online) by John G. Turner Instead of depicting the Pilgrims as otherworldly saints or extraordinary sinners, it tells how a variety of English settlers and Native peoples engaged in a contest for the meaning of American liberty.

The Civil War As a Theological Crisis (Online) by Mark A. Noll Views the Civil War as a major turning point in American religious thought. Though the Christians on all sides agreed that the Bible was authoritative, their interpretations of slavery in Scripture led to a full-blown theological crisis.
Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War (Online) by Harry S. Stout Shows how both sides of the Civil War claiming that they had God on their side fueled the ferocity of the conflict and its enduring legacy today.
God's Almost Chosen Peoples: A Religious History of the Civil War (Online) by George C. Rable An account of how Americans of all political and religious persuasions used faith to interpret the course of the war. Underscores religion's presence in the everyday lives of Americans north and south struggling to understand the meaning of the conflict.
The Politics of Faith During the Civil War (Online) by Timothy L. Wesley Examines the engagement of both northern and southern preachers in politics during the American Civil War, revealing an era of denominational, governmental, and public scrutiny of religious leaders.