Hippies of the Religious Right: From the Countercultures of Jerry Garcia to the Subculture of Jerry Falwell [Paperback]

Preston Shires (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2007

This volume demonstrates that the Christian Right has a surprising past. Historical analysis reveals that the countercultural movements and evangelicalism share a common heritage. Shires warns that political operatives in both parties need to heed this fact if they hope to either, in the case of the Republican Party, retain their evangelical constituency, or, in the case of the Democratic Party, recruit new evangelical voters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shires, who teaches history at a community college in Nebraska, contends that a surprising number of teens and young adults who participated in the 1960s counterculture eventually made their way to the "robust evangelical movement" of the 1970s and 1980s. The counterculture itself fostered an interest in spirituality, and the charismatic renewal offered youth a way to rebel against their parents' mainline Christianity. Shires's most innovative claim is that the counterculture actually led to the development of the religious right. While so-called "Jesus Freaks" and other countercultural Christians were primarily on a spiritual, not political, quest, the organic, integrated life they sought led them to apply their faith to politics. Shires concludes with a prediction: the next decades may see the rise of a more politically moderate evangelicalism, as a younger generation, concerned with inclusion and caring for the poor, matures. If Shires does not make an airtight case, his argument is certainly intriguing. Although the book is marred by occasional clunky academic prose and overuse of the passive voice ("This has been the argument"), Shires makes a real contribution to the nation's current discussions about evangelicals and political activism. (Apr.)
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Review

Preston Shires blends insider familiarity with historical analysis in this revealing account of the Christian Right's indebtedness to the all-encompassing spirituality and sense of entitlement characteristic of the counterculture generation of the 1960s. Highlighting the importance of "Jesus Freaks" who brought new forms of self-expression into Protestant evangelicalism, Shires calls attention to the rejection of rational, scientific thinking as a thread running from the 60s counterculture to the Christian Right. This book contributes significantly to understanding the fervent supernaturalism evident in American public life today.
--Amanda Porterfield, Robert A. Spivey Professor of Religion and Director of Graduate Studies, Florida State University

Shires shows how some countercultural values from the 1960s era survive in the motivations of participants in what would seem an entirely different social movement, socially activist evangelical Protestantism. His well-documented case is original and provocative. --Tim Miller, Kansas University

Preston Shires blends insider familiarity with historical analysis in this revealing account of the Christian Right's indebtedness to the all-encompassing spirituality and sense of entitlement characteristic of the counterculture generation of the 1960s. Highlighting the importance of "Jesus Freaks" who brought new forms of self-expression into Protestant evangelicalism, Shires calls attention to the rejection of rational, scientific thinking as a thread running from the 60s counterculture to the Christian Right. This book contributes significantly to understanding the fervent supernaturalism evident in American public life today. --Amanda Porterfield, Robert A. Spivey Professor of Religion and Director of Graduate Studies, Florida State University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Baylor University Press (March 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932792570
• ISBN-13: 978-1932792577
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,503,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, January 30, 2010

By 

Melanie Winters "Melanie" (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hippies of the Religious Right: From the Countercultures of Jerry Garcia to the Subculture of Jerry Falwell (Paperback)

The first chapter is almost completely secondary research material and you get the feeling the book is going to be pretty lousy. However, it really picks up after that-- and much of the later research material (though not especially hard to find or archivally based) is quite compelling. The argument is clear, compelling, and very very readable. Chapters are short, but perhaps that's good for an undergraduate level. It's an ideal book to assign to younger undergrads who are just learning about the genre of historical monograph. Great for provoking discussions.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great History of The Jesus Movement!, December 5, 2007

By 

Cheryl A. Clay "Cheri Clay freelance book rev... (Obetz, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hippies of the Religious Right: From the Countercultures of Jerry Garcia to the Subculture of Jerry Falwell (Paperback)

The title says it all in this novel about the counterculture movement. Turn the book over and the line at the top of the book will really peak your interest "From the Counterculture of Jerry Garcia to the subculture of Jerry Falwell", so how can you resist reading and the author does not disappoint. The author is Preston Shires who has a PhD from the University of Nebraska and teaches history at the Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska and makes a strong but interesting point of how the hippie counterculture movement of the 1960's evolved into the Jesus Movement of the 1970's and the 1980's. But than again as Shires points out the 1960's hippies seem to follow the Golden Rule philosophy of the Bible which is "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12) even if they themselves did not know it at the time. From this philosophy it just seemed to birth into the Jesus Movement as the hippies grew older and looked for a deeper meaning of the whole "love" thing and still didn't want any part of their parents' religion. This reviewer feels the author puts it best - "Although the youth of the sixties rebelled against many of the strictures of their parents' generation, they did retain at least two important older-generation principles. They never abandoned in the main, a commitment to the golden rule ideal, and they never relented in their pursuit of freedom or expressive individualism. What they did reject was the conformism that forbade them the right to do new things and think new ideas".

Read how the religious leaders at the time became involved such as Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, David Wilkerson and many others. Also read of some of the leaders that came from the hippie movement into the Jesus Movement like Keith and Melody Green and the beginning of their ministries.

Exceptional book at explaining the Jesus Movement, a definite read for the 60's historical buffs, or even a great subject for a debate team, great for Christians or anyone interested in how modern day Christianity evolved from the hippies to the Jesus movement to now. Overall this book would be great for a group study as it does read like a textbook but it's amazing that so much information is contained to only 242 pages. The notes at the end of the book; just give an added depth to some of the information and requires reading as well. The bibliography book list is really great for a further reading or study. There is even an index that makes it great for going back for rereading of certain sections. This book has this reviewer's vote in agreeing with the author's argument but read it for yourself and than decide.