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The Changing of America, 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy.(Book review)
- Article from:
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Baptist History and Heritage
- Article date:
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January 1, 2008
- Author:
- Harsch, Lloyd A.
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2008 Baptist History and Heritage Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Changing of America, 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy. By Roger Finke and Rodney Stark. Second Edition, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005. 347 pp.
Conventional wisdom holds that Americans attended church in large numbers at the founding of the country and that those numbers have declined ever since. Roger Finke and Rodney Stark disagree. Citing statistical studies, they seek "to place the history of American religion within a dynamic, interpretive model and to correct some major misconceptions" (23). The authors focus on the development of the larger denominational families of the Puritan/Congregationalists, Presbyterians, ...