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No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism Hardcover – April 25, 2011

by David W. Stowe (Author)

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In this cultural history of evangelical Christianity and popular music, David Stowe demonstrates how mainstream rock of the 1960s and 1970s has influenced conservative evangelical Christianity through the development of Christian pop music. The chart-topping, spiritually inflected music created a space in popular culture for talk of Jesus, God, and Christianity, thus lessening for baby boomers and their children the stigma associated with religion while helping to fill churches and create new modes of worship. Stowe shows how evangelicals' increasing acceptance of Christian pop music ultimately has reinforced a variety of conservative cultural, economic, theological, and political messages.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date

April 25, 2011
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
ISBN-10

0807834580
ISBN-13

978-0807834589
See all details

Randall J. Stephens
22
Hardcover
26 offers from $20.01

Editorial Reviews

Review

Bring[s] the Jesus Movement to life.--Journal of Religious Studies

Stowe has provided an intriguing, important, and readable book, ably showing both the sympathies that conservative Christians held toward the "devil" of rock 'n roll and countercultural affectations.--Journal of Southern Religion

A significant addition to most types of libraries. . . . Highly recommended for academic library collections, although it is readable enough to be considered for public libraries as well.--Tennessee Libraries

A useful look at the early days of evangelical popular culture that shows that the walls between the secular and evangelical worlds are not thin, but nonexistent.--The Southern Register

Highly entertaining. . . . Those concerned with God's missional activities in America, past and present, would benefit richly from this book, as it analyzes a movement that deserves to be counted among America's great revivals.--Missiology

A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the relationship between evangelical Christianity and popular music.--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

Stowe offers a serious and impressive examination. . . . Anyone even remotely interested in American or religious studies will be captivated by this study.--Publishers Weekly

Stowe's book is an admirable effort and one of the few real histories of this genre that is still in print.--School of the Rock blog

The exploration of musical/social/political connections is perhaps the greatest strength of this well-written, carefully researched book. Stowe explains the early development of Christian pop and rock music more thoroughly than perhaps any other book available.--Library Journal starred review

A compelling spiritual biography of--and a vivid memory book for--the boomer generation . . . a rich source for further thought on America's nth Great Awakening.--Journal of Religion

Recommended. Most levels/libraries.--Choice

The real success story of political pop in recent history is the saga of Christian rock. . . Stowe follows Christian pop as it evolves from sound-tracking the left-leaning countercultural Jesus movement, with its saucer-eyed teen burnouts baptized in the surf of '60s Corona del Mar, California, to mobilizing Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority and the Reagan Revolution.--Bookforum

Stowe's work stands out as one of the most compelling and entertaining examinations of evangelicalism that has been published in recent years. This book is an indispensible read for historians, religious studies scholars, and those with an abiding interest in evangelicalism.--Journal of Southern History

Stowe's engaging book makes an excellent contribution; I recommend it highly for both scholars and students.--Journal of American History

Review

David Stowe's No Sympathy for the Devil is a much-needed and highly engaging study of Christian rock. Expertly researched and elegantly written, Stowe not only adds texture to this misunderstood music, he also helps us understand the cultural and political resonance this music has had with American evangelicals, as well as its place in the broader world of post-1960s religious pop. An important achievement by one of our leading authorities on American religion and music.--Jason C. Bivins, author of Religion of Fear: The Politics of Horror in Conservative Evangelicalism

David Stowe's fascinating book reveals how Christian rock music changed and shaped contemporary evangelicalism. No Sympathy for the Devil is an engaging read that provides a compelling look at the 'secret history' of religion and pop music.--Randall Balmer, author of The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press; New edition (April 25, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807834580
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807834589
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,421,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #390 in Contemporary Christian Music (Books)
- #21,543 in Christian Inspirational

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David W. Stowe

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David Stowe has been playing drums now for nearly fifty years. He teaches English and Religious Studies at Michigan State University, where he served from 2014-16 as chair of the English Department. His most recent book is Song of Exile: The Enduring Mystery of Psalm 137 (Oxford, 2016).

His previous book was No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism (UNC Press 2011, pbk. 2013). How Sweet the Sound: Music in the Spiritual Lives of Americans (Harvard, 2004), won the Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP.

Stowe’s first book, Swing Changes: Big Band Jazz in New Deal America (Harvard, 1994), was published in Japanese by Hosei University Press. His first novel, Learning from Loons, is in production.

While on leave from Michigan State University, Stowe taught at Doshisha University's Graduate School of American Studies in Kyoto, Japan, where he also served as Associate Dean. During the 2012-13 academic year, Stowe held a research fellowship at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music.

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Terry Cowles

Worth Reading

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

Great book to read to understand the changes with Christian Music from the late 1960’s to present. Shows how the Jesus Movement had a impact on the church & music which is still going on today.

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Aaron C

Comprehensive coverage of Jesus Movement in America

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2011

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Hi,

This book is a comprehensive review of the Jesus Movement in America from a non-Christian writer. Topics include Jesus movement started in California, how politics came to be influenced by estachology in the Bible, big time artists in both the secular and Christian world with thoughts about their spiritiual lives (well sourced).

This book should be rated R. Not because of the language but because of the subject matter of sex which is pervasive in this book.

I think this book is great because it is a documentary of the past. The author rarely intersperses his own opinions which make the book an even handed account of the "movement."

Highly recommended.

Thanks. God Bless.

Aaron.

3 people found this helpful

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DP Flake

Adequate summary of the revolution in Christian Music

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2011

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No Sympathy is an informative book that highlights the most significant events of the emergence and early development of Christian Rock. The author correctly identifies the major driving forces of the genre - Larry Norman, Andrea Crouch, and Barry McGuire - who appear throughout the book giving some context to current events. He paints compact and informative descriptions of seminal events such as Godstock and Explo '72 (which I attended), as well as stories behind lesser-known (and to some, questionable) celebrities of Jesus Music (Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Kris Kristofferson...). It satisfied some of my curiosity of the lives of several leading musicians like (again) Larry Norman and Keith Green and how they moved within the church scenes during the era of the "Jesus People." I also includes a satisfying glimpse into the conversion of Bob Dylan. Johnny Cash's contributions to the era were not something I was really aware of, but now makes some sense.

I agree that the book is very repetitive and poorly edited as stated in another review; it did seem like it was a compilation of disparate articles from various magazines. But all in all, I found it to be kind of a Reader's Digest of information that I appreciated. It does make me want more information though.

8 people found this helpful

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Jill Stevens

Passionless, repetitive and poorly edited

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2011

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Was looking forward to this, but found it dreadfully dull and poorly edited.

For instance, DJ Scott Ross is introduced no less than four (4) times, and each time the same copy is written about him. Frequently, the book is written as if each chapter is written on its own instead of part of a book, so there's no narrative thread. Musicians and newsworthy artists and events come and go and there's no connection drawn between them.

Most disappointing of all, the entire premise of the book--how CCM transformed American evangelism--is NEVER addressed! Just when the book ends, we're introduced to the Reagan era, but by then, "Jesus Music" in its purist form was over, and CCM as an industry was beginning to draw attention. But the connection is never made, other than some statistics that most men and women from the Jesus Movement tend to be conservative as they age.

9 people found this helpful

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William Libby

Original and Insightful

Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2013

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Very novel insghts into links of disparate elements of counter-culture, Jesus street people, emergent Christian rock,
and "estalbishment"."

Paticularly strong in showing how modern evangelicals really selectively borrowed from, and built upon the heritigage from this period.

Very clearly written.

Helpful

searching for quality

deserves better feedback-- an important and interesting book

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2011

I usually find that amazon reviews are higher on average than what books deserve; in this case (as I write) the reviews are far lower. This is one of the best available books on the interplay of popular music and Christianity, centering on the key decade of the 1970s when Christian contemporary music was coming into its own and major "secular" stars (Stowe deals with Dylan, Cash, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and many others) overlapped extensively with it. Meanwhile groundbreaking shows like Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell were making a major impact. Stowe documents how all this fit together, using consistently interesting examples. He helps us greatly to understand the nature and appeal of post-1970s middle-of-the-road evangelicalism which drew (and continues to draw) on the cultural capital of this music-- especially the more secular versions of it. There are things I'd do differently if I were writing it. But Stowe has written the book and I haven't, so meanwhile he has the best available account.

6 people found this helpful

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BookWorm

Funny, informative, up-to-date, brilliant.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2011

Verified Purchase

I came across this book in a search for literature to use in my dissertation on representations of the Devil in various styles of music, with one chapter covering the genre of Christian rock and how it poses something of an oxymoron to some Christians. This book is written with a great knowledge on the style, and gives a wealth of information about the roots and development of Christian rock. I've found it to be invaluable in my research, and am really glad I stumbled across it! Stowe writes in a very accessible style and at times with a dry wit that makes this book all the more enjoyable.

One person found this helpful

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