In this compelling history of progressive evangelicalism, Brantley
Gasaway examines a dynamic though often overlooked movement within
American Christianity today. Gasaway focuses on left-leaning
groups, such as Sojourners and Evangelicals for Social Action, that
emerged in the early 1970s, prior to the rise of the more visible
Religious Right. He identifies the distinctive "public theology--a
set of biblical interpretations regarding the responsibility of
Christians to promote social justice--that has animated progressive
evangelicals' activism and bound together their unusual combination
of political positions.
The book analyzes how prominent leaders, including Jim Wallis, Ron
Sider, and Tony Campolo, responded to key political and social
issues over the past four decades. Progressive evangelicals
combated racial inequalities, endorsed feminism, promoted economic
justice, and denounced American nationalism and militarism. At the
same time, most leaders opposed abortion and refused to affirm
homosexual behavior, even as they defended gay civil rights.
Gasaway demonstrates that, while progressive evangelicals have been
caught in the crossfire of partisan conflicts and public debates
over the role of religion in politics, they have offered a
significant alternative to both the Religious Right and the
political left.