Conformed to This World? The Cultural Patchwork of New Evangelicals

Are evangelical Christians conforming to the cultural patterns of the secular world? This is the question that motivates my dissertation. Despite media representations of orthodox Protestants as monolithically conservative and reactionary, many scholars have noted that an "evangelical megashift" is taking place in the contemporary United States. This shift indicates that conservative Christians are exchanging their exclusionary, fire-and-brimstone manner for kinder, gentler, softer tones. James Davison Hunter and others assert that this shift is caused by evangelicals' accommodation--their conformity--to the modern world. I contend, however, that the relationship between religious congregations and the larger society is much more complex and heterogeneous than these analyses allow.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• McConkey, Edwin Dale, II

Contributors dc:contributor

• Denzin, Norman K.

• Religion, General
• Sociology, Social Structure and Development

Identifier

(UMI)AAI9411714

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/72480