The Religious Crisis of the 1960s [Hardcover]

Hugh McLeod (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0199298254 | ISBN-13: 978-0199298259

The 1960s were a time of explosive religious change. In the Christian churches, it was a time of innovation, from the "new theology" and "new morality" of Bishop Robinson to the evangelicalism of the Charismatic Movement, and of charismatic leaders such as Pope John XXIII and Martin Luther King. But it was also a time of rapid social and cultural change when Christianity faced challenges from Eastern religions, from Marxism and feminism, and above all from new "affluent" lifestyles. Hugh McLeod tells in detail, using oral history, how these movements and conflicts were experienced in England, but because the Sixties were an international phenomenon, he looks at other countries as well, especially the U.S. and France. McLeod explains what happened to religion in the 1960s, why it happened, and how the events of that decade shaped the rest of the 20th century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

a penetrating analysis of religious change in the long 1960s... The book stands out above other similar publications in clarity of argumentation and depth of understanding... Reading this book is an enriching experience, making the reader wiser. Andrzej Bronk, Anthropos It is rare to come across a monograph which covers major social and ideological changes in a decade of transition in a comprehensive, readable and authoritative way. This is one of those gems... The Religious Crisis of the 1960s deserves to become a modern classic. Gerd-Rainer Horn, The English Historical Review The Religious Crisis of the 1960s, quite simply, provides a compelling and persuasive account of the complex changes it addresses. Timothy Larsen, Books and Culture Religious Crisis is detailed and comprehensive, yet is also engagingly written. Moreover, a great deal of important new source material, especially from unpublished personal testimonies, is incorporated into the text... a very valuable book indeed. Stephen Bullivant, Journal of Ecclesiastical History This excellent book provides further evidence of a recent historiographical shift in the treatment of the 1960s... furnishing a more complex and nuanced portrait of change in the sixties and providing a reliable platform for further work on the part of sociologists and historians as they attempt to assess the recent history of the churchesin the West. Duncan Dormer, THEOLOGY What is particularly impressive about this book-and one reason why it will not easily be superseded-is its remarkable international scope...Hugh McLeod has given us exactly what we need-a rich, nuanced and encyclopaedic account, which is a measured but effective rejoinder to lazy assumptions about a 'secular 1960s'. Matthew Grimley 20th Century British History a fascinating piece of research on the "long 1960s" (1957 - 1974), combining quantitstive data (statistics) with qualitive data (oral history) Methodist Recorder The strength of McLeod's history is first, that it uses the oral-history experiences of ordinary people, in a variety of national cultures, who lived through these years, and second ...that it takes seriously the complexity of the changes that came and the significance of their sequencing and social contexts... I hope this book will soon be published in paperback and read widely. It is the 1960s that locate us all. John Nurser Sofia McLeod makes effective use of oral testimony to shed light on the many ways in which Christians changed their religious practice, created their own patchwork of values and beliefs or simply lost interest in church affairs. Benjamin Ziemann, History Today ...the best book in this field...a magisterial assembly of facts, preferably statistics, about the changing status of Churches; and it carries on a dialogue with other scholars who have reached other conclusions while handling the same subject in the mode of sociology. David L. Edwards, Church Times Lucidly written [and] admirably concise...Professor McLeod has produced a work that is likely to remain the starting point for new research into the period for many years, perhaps for a generation. Peter Webster, Reviews in History

About the Author

Hugh McLeod is Professor of Church History at the University of Birmingham.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199298254
• ISBN-13: 978-0199298259
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,278,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Enlightening, January 2, 2012

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This review is from: The Religious Crisis of the 1960s (Paperback)

I bought this as a class-required textbook for university. I had a limited knowledge of religious and secular history prior to taking the course, and I learned a lot from this book. The reading can be somewhat dull at times, though.