Library of Religious Biography (LRB)

"Our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I don't care what it is. With us, of course, it is the Judeo-Christian concept, but it must be a religion that all men are created equal." So said Dwight D. Eisenhower shortly after being elected president of the United States in 1952. Although this statement has been variously interpreted, it reflects one of his fundamental guiding principles: that for a country to thrive, it needs a shared identity, formed through common values, history, and purpose. For Eisenhower, this could be found most distinctly in shared faith-a concept that came to be known as American civil religion, which defined and drove much of the cohesion of the 1950s under Eisenhower's leadership. This biography tells the story of how deeply religious convictions ran through every aspect of Eisenhower's public life: his decision to become a soldier, his crusade against fascism and communism, his response to the civil rights movement, his belief that only he as president could lead America through the Cold War, and his search for nuclear peace. Having been brought up in a devout family-first as part of the River Brethren and later Jehovah's Witnesses-Eisenhower continued to see the world in terms of a dialectical struggle between divine and demonic forces throughout his life, even after joining the Presbyterian church. This perspective shaped his public image as a general in World War II and as president during some of the coldest years of the Cold War, when cultural differences between the atheistic Soviet Union and the religiously grounded United States began crystallizing. As Eisenhower's historical standing continues to rise, and his contrast with the modern Republican Party deepens, Jack Holl's study of this consequential figure of twentieth-century American history shines a spotlight on what has changed in the intervening years. What can be learned from the religious outlook of a public servant who embraced moderation instead of partisan division? Which beliefs and convictions led a former general to a position of skepticism against the military-industrial complex? With the role of faith in American political life, still a hotly debated topic today, Eisenhower's religious journey is worth renewed attention.

"So you're the little woman who started this big war," Abraham Lincoln is said to have quipped when he met Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin converted readers by the thousands to the anti-slavery movement and served notice that the days of slavery were numbered. Overnight Stowe became a celebrity, but to defenders of slavery she was the devil in petticoats. Most writing about Stowe treats her as a literary figure and social reformer while downplaying her Christian faith. But Nancy Koester's biography highlights Stowe's faith as central to her life - both her public fight against slavery and her own personal struggle through deep grief to find a gracious God. Having meticulously researched Stowe's own writings, both published and un-published, Koester traces Stowe's faith pilgrimage from evangelical Calvinism through spiritualism to Anglican spirituality in a flowing, compelling narrative.

In 1946, God gave Oral Roberts a new Buick. And this just one of many miracles the young, broke preacher learned to expect, as Oral Roberts would go on to build an evangelistic ministry worth millions of dollars, a medical complex, and a university. How do we interpret the life of a man who seemed to combine rampant consumerist excess with a sincere devotion to the gospel? Seeking to answer this question, Jonathan Root weaves together accounts of Oral Roberts's life in a balanced and engaging narrative. This fresh biography covers Roberts's early life during the Great Depression in Oklahoma, his family's financial struggles during his early career as a Pentecostal preacher, his healing ministry's explosive growth in popularity via the new media of radio and television, and his empire's eventual collapse. Root pays special attention to how Roberts introduced the "prosperity gospel" to American Protestants with his affirmation that God intends his followers to be both spiritually and physically fulfilled. Root's engaging narration looks to primary sources on Roberts's life as well as the mythologized stories he told years later. The man who emerges is both deeply flawed and entirely earnest in his devotion to Christ. Oral Roberts and the Rise of the Prosperity Gospel will be an absorbing read for all those interested in American religious history and one of its most colorful figures.

The story narrates the drama of a famous preacher's entire career in his historical context.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) was America's most famous pastor and scholar at the beginning of the eighteenth century. People today generally associate him with the infamous Salem witch trials, but in this new biography Rick Kennedy tells a bigger story: Mather, he says, was the very first American evangelical. A fresh retelling of Cotton Mather's life, this biography corrects misconceptions and focuses on how he sought to promote, socially and intellectually, a biblical lifestyle. As older Puritan hopes in New England were giving way to a broader and shallower Protestantism, Mather led a populist, Bible-oriented movement that embraced the new century - the beginning of a dynamic evangelical tradition that eventually became a major force in American culture. Incorporating the latest scholarly research but written for a popular audience, The First American Evangelical brings Cotton Mather and his world to life in a way that helps readers understand both the Puritanism in which he grew up and the evangelicalism he pioneered.

The narrative surrounding Charles Lindbergh's life has been as varying and complex as the man himself. Once best known as an aviator-the first to complete a solo nonstop transatlantic flight-he has since, become increasingly, identified with his sympathies for white supremacy, eugenics, and the Nazi regime in Germany. Underexplored amid all this is Lindbergh's spiritual life. What beliefs drove the contradictory impulses of this twentieth-century icon? An apostle of technological progress who encountered God in the wildernesses he sought to protect, an anti-Semitic opponent of US intervention in World War II who had a Jewish scripture inscribed on his gravestone, and a critic of Christianity who admired Christ, Lindbergh defies conventional categories. But, spirituality undoubtedly mattered to him a great deal. Influenced by his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh-a self-described "lapsed Presbyterian" who longed to live "in grace", and friends like Alexis Carrel and Jim Newton (an evangelical businessman), he spent much of his adult life reflecting on mortality, divinity, and metaphysics. In this short biography, Christopher Gehrz represents Lindbergh as he was, neither an adherent nor an atheist, a historical case study of an increasingly familiar contemporary phenomenon: the "spiritual but not religious." For all his earnest curiosity, Lindbergh remained unwilling throughout his life to submit to any spiritual authority beyond himself and ultimately, rejected the ordering influence of church, tradition, scripture, or creed. In the end, the man who flew solo across the Atlantic insisted on charting his own spiritual path, drawing on multiple sources in such a way that satisfied his spiritual hunger but left some of his cruelest convictions unchallenged.

How faith sustained Jackie Robinson, both as an athlete and as an activist. The integration of Major League Baseball in 1947 was a triumph. But it was also a fight. As the first Black major leaguer since the 1880s, Jackie Robinson knew he was not going to be welcomed into America's pastime with open arms. Anticipating hostility, he promised Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey that he would "turn the other cheek" during his first years in the league, despite his fiercely competitive disposition. Robinson later said that his faith in God had sustained him, giving him the strength he needed to play the game he loved at the highest level without retaliating against the abuse inflicted upon him by opposing players and fans. Faith was a key component of Robinson's life, but not in the way we see it with many prominent Christian athletes today. Whereas the Tim Tebows and Clayton Kershaws of the sports world emphasize personal spirituality, Robinson found inspiration in the Bible's teachings on human dignity and social justice. He grew up a devout Methodist (a heritage he shared with Branch Rickey) and identified with the theological convictions and social concerns of many of his fellow mainline Protestants, especially those of the Black church. While he humbly stated that he could not claim to be a deeply religious man, he spoke frequently in African American congregations and described a special affinity he and other Black Christians felt for the biblical character Job, who had also kept faith despite suffering and injustice. In his eulogy for Robinson, Jesse Jackson described Robinson as a "co-partner of God," who lived out his faith in his civil rights activism, both during and after his baseball career. Robinson's faith will resonate with many Christians who believe, as he did, that "a person can be quite religious and at the same time militant in the defense of his ideals." This religious biography of Robinson chronicles the important role of faith in his life, from his childhood to his groundbreaking baseball career through his transformative civil rights work, and, in the process, helps to humanize the man who has become a mythic figure in both sports history and American culture.

Impious and amoral, petty and vindictive, Richard Nixon is not the typical protagonist of a religious biography. But spiritual drama is at the heart of this former president's tragic story. The night before his resignation, Richard Nixon wept, and prayed. Though his demanding parents had raised him Quaker, he wasn't a regular churchgoer, nor was he quick to express vulnerability. As Henry Kissinger witnessed Nixon's loneliness and humiliation that night, he remarked, "Can you imagine what this man would have been had somebody loved him?" In this provocative and riveting biography, Daniel Silliman cuts to the heart of Nixon's tragedy: Nixon wanted to be loved by God but couldn't figure out how. This profound theological struggle underlay his successes and scandals, his turbulent political career, his history-changing victories, and his ultimate disgrace. As Silliman narrates the arc of his subject's life and career, he connects Nixon's character to religious influences in twentieth-century America, from Cold War Christianity to Chick tracts. Silliman paints a nuanced spiritual portrait of the thirty-seventh president, just as he offers fresh insight into US political and religious history. Readers who lived through Watergate will discover a new perspective on an infamous controversy. A historical page-turner, “One Lost Soul” will surprise and absorb students, scholars, and anyone who likes a good story.

The story of Abraham Lincoln's faith and intellectual life, from the three-time winner of the Lincoln Prize and best-selling Civil War—era historian Allen Guelzo. Allen Guelzo's peerless account of America's most celebrated president explores the role of ideas in Lincoln's life, treating him as a serious thinker deeply involved in the nineteenth-century debates over politics, religion, and culture. Through masterful and original scholarly work, Guelzo relates the outward events of Lincoln's life to his inner spiritual struggles and sets them both against the intellectual backdrop of his age. The sixteenth president emerges as a creative yet profoundly paradoxical man, possessed of deep moral and religious character yet without adherence to organized religion.

What role did Laura Ingalls Wilder's Christian faith play in her life and writing?    The beloved Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder have sold over 60 million copies since their publication in the first half of the twentieth century. Even her unpolished memoir, Pioneer Girl, which tells the true story behind the children's books, was widely embraced upon its release in 2014. Despite Wilder's enduring popularity, few fans know much about her Christian beliefs and practice.    John J. Fry shines a light on Wilder's quiet faith in this unique biography. Fry surveys the Little House books, Pioneer Girl, and Wilder's lesser-known writings, including her letters, poems, and newspaper columns. Analyzing this wealth of sources, he reveals how Wilder's down-to-earth faith and Christian morality influenced her life and work. Interweaving these investigations with Wilder's perennially interesting life story, A Prairie Faith illustrates the Christian practices of pioneers and rural farmers during this dynamic period of American history.

Relates one of the most remarkable lives in the tumultuous English Reformation Thomas Cranmer (1489—1556) was the first Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, the author of the Book of Common Prayer, and a central figure in the English Protestant Reformation. Few theologians have led such an eventful life: Cranmer helped Henry VIII break with the pope, pressed his vision of the Reformation through the reign of Edward VI, was forced to recant under Queen Mary, and then dramatically withdrew his recantations before being burned alive. This lively biography by Leslie Williams narrates Cranmer's life from the beginning, through his education and history with the monarchy, to his ecclesiastical trials and eventual martyrdom. Williams portrays Cranmer's ongoing struggle to reconcile his two central loyalties-allegiance to the crown and fidelity to the Reformation faith-as she tells his fascinating life story.

Garnering awards from Choice, Christianity Today, Books & Culture, and the Conference on Christianity and Literature when first published in 1998, Roger Lundin's Emily Dickinson and the Art of Belief has been widely recognized as one of the finest biographies of the great American poet Emily Dickinson. Paying special attention to her experience of faith, Lundin skillfully relates Dickinson's life - as it can be charted through her poems and letters - to nineteenth-century American political, social, religious, and intellectual history. This second edition of Lundin's superb work includes a standard bibliography, expanded notes, and a more extensive discussion of Dickinson's poetry than the first edition contained. Besides examining Dickinson's singular life and work in greater depth, Lundin has also keyed all poem citations to the recently updated standard edition of Dickinson's poetry. Already outstanding, Lundin's biography of Emily Dickinson is now even better than before, the volume begins with a look at early Christology and covers the whole of the New Testament from the Gospels to Revelation.

For more than five decades Billy Graham (1918-2018) ranked as one of the most influential voices in the Christian world. Nearly 215 million people around the world heard him preach in person or through live electronic media, almost certainly more than any other person. For millions, Graham was less a preacher than a Protestant saint. While remaining orthodox at the core, over time his approach on many issues became more irenic and progressive. And his preaching continued to resonate, propelled by his powerful promise of a second chance. Drawing on decades of research on Billy Graham and American evangelicalism, Grant Wacker has marshalled personal interviews, archival research, and never-before-published photographs from the Graham family and others to tell the remarkable story of one of the most celebrated Christians in American history. Where Wacker's previous work on Graham, America's Pastor, focused on the preacher's relation to the nation's culture, One Soul at a Time offers a sweeping, easy-to-read narrative of the life of the man himself.

A nuanced portrait of a great historical figure considered everything from a "God-haunted man" to a "stalwart nonbeliever" What did faith mean to Winston Churchill? Churchill was far from transparent about his religious beliefs and never regularly attended church services as an adult, even considering himself "not a pillar of the church but a buttress," in the sense that he supported it "from the outside." But Gary Scott Smith assembles pieces of Churchill's life and words to convey the profound sense of duty and destiny, partly inspired by his religious convictions, that undergirded his outlook. Reflecting on becoming prime minister in 1940, he wrote, "It felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial." In a similarly grand fashion, he described opposing the Nazis-and later the Soviets-as a struggle between light and darkness, driven by the duty to preserve "humane, enlightened, Christian society." Though Churchill harbored intellectual doubts about Christianity throughout his life, he nevertheless valued it greatly and drew on its resources, especially in the crucible of war. In Duty and Destiny, Smith unpacks Churchill's paradoxical religious views and carefully analyzes the complexities of his legacy. This thorough examination of Churchill's religious life provides a new narrative structure to make sense of one of the most important figures of the twentieth century.

The first close examination of how Robert E. Lee's faith shaped his life Robert E. Lee was many things-accomplished soldier, military engineer, college president, family man, agent of reconciliation, polarizing figure. He was also a person of deep Christian conviction. In this biography of the famous Civil War general, R. David Cox shows how Lee's Christian faith shaped his crucial role in some of the most pivotal events in American history. Delving into family letters and other primary sources-some of them newly discovered-Cox traces the lifelong development of Lee's convictions and how they influenced his decisions to stand with Virginia over against the Union and later to support reconciliation and reconstruction in the years after the Civil War. Faith was central to Lee's character, Cox argues-so central that it directed and redirected his life, especially in the aftermath of defeat.

When John Foster Dulles died in 1959, he was given the largest American state funeral since Franklin Delano Roosevelt's in 1945. President Eisenhower called Dulles-his longtime secretary of state-"one of the truly great men of our time," and a few years later the new commercial airport outside Washington, DC, was christened the Dulles International Airport in his honor. His star has fallen significantly since that time, but his influence remains indelible-most especially regarding his role in bringing the worldview of American exceptionalism to the forefront of US foreign policy during the Cold War era, a worldview that has long outlived him. God's Cold Warrior recounts how Dulles's faith commitments from his Presbyterian upbringing found fertile soil in the anti-communist crusades of the mid-twentieth century. After attending the Oxford Ecumenical Church Conference in 1937, he wrote about his realization that "the spirit of Christianity, of which I learned as a boy, was really that of which the world now stood in very great need, not merely to save souls, but to solve the practical problems of international affairs." Dulles believed that America was chosen by God to defend the freedom of all those vulnerable to the godless tyranny of communism, and he carried out this religious vision in every aspect of his diplomatic and political work. He was conspicuous among those US officials in the twentieth century that prominently combined their religious convictions and public service, making his life and faith key to understanding the interconnectedness of God and country in US foreign affairs.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when asked at a press conference about the roots of his political philosophy, responded simply, "I am a Christian and a Democrat." This is the story of how the first informed the second-how his upbringing in the Episcopal Church and matriculation at the Groton School under legendary educator and minister Endicott Peabody molded Roosevelt into a leader whose politics were fundamentally shaped by the Social Gospel. A work begun by religious historian John Woolverton (1926 2014) and recently completed by James Bratt, A Christian and a Democrat is an engaging analysis of the surprisingly spiritual life of one of the most consequential presidents in US history. Reading Woolverton's account of FDR's response to the toxic demagoguery of his day will reassure readers today that a constructive way forward is possible for Christians, for Americans, and for the world.

Although she was never as prominent as Billy Graham or many of the other iconic male evangelists of the twentieth century, Henrietta Mears was arguably the single most influential woman in the shaping of modern evangelicalism. Her seminal work What the Bible Is All About sold millions of copies, and key figures in the early modern evangelical movement like Bill Bright, Harold John Ockenga, and Jim Rayburn frequently cited her teachings as a formative part of their ministry. Graham himself stated that Mears was the most important female influence in his life other than his mother or wife. Mother of Modern Evangelicalism is the first comprehensive biography of Henrietta Mears. Arlin Migliazzo uses previously overlooked archival sources and dozens of interviews with Mears associates to assemble a detailed portrait of her life and legacy, including the way she helped steer conservative theology between fundamentalism and liberal modernism with her relentless focus on the Christian life as an act of consecrated service. Readers will find here a religious leader worthy of emulation in today's world-one who sought an alternative to the divisive polemics of her own day, staying fiercely committed to the faith while fighting against the anti-intellectualism and cultural parochialism that had characterized the fundamentalist movement of the early twentieth century. While she never technically delivered a Sunday morning message from the pulpit and refused to be called a preacher, Henrietta Mears's life stands here as a sermon about graceful leadership and faithful engagement with the world.

The fascinating life story told critically but sympathetically, of a paragon of twentieth-century white Christian womanhood-and the wife of evangelist Billy Graham. Ruth Bell Graham's legacy is closely associated with that of her husband, whose career placed her in the public eye throughout her life. But, while it's true that her identity was significantly shaped by her role in supporting Billy Graham's ministry, Ruth carried a strong sense of her own agency and was widely influential in her own right, especially in the image she projected of conservative evangelical womanhood-defined by a faith that was deep, private, and nonpolitical. Beginning prior to Ruth and Billy's meeting at Wheaton College, Anne Blue Wills chronicles the many other formative experiences of Ruth's life-especially the first decade of her childhood living in a community of American medical missionaries in China. Throughout the biography, Wills focuses not on Ruth's peripheral role in Billy's life, but on her own interests, ambitions, and fears-as a devoted mother of five, as the fastidious manager of a household, as a devout and well-read Christian, and as a beloved writer and poet. Dealing honestly with a life of contradictory responsibilities that Ruth Bell Graham herself called "an odd kind of cross to bear," Wills draws from nearly a decade of original research and presents a nuanced portrait of Graham apart from the reverential awe of her admirers and the oversimplified caricatures put forth by her detractors. In telling Graham's story, Wills indirectly tells the story of millions of women who emulated Graham as a role model-women who spurned second-wave feminism and willingly submitted to patriarchy while maintaining an undeniable sense of independence and strength of conviction.

To fully understand American Christianity, it's essential to understand Robert Schuller.   The Church Must Grow or Perish: Robert H. Schuller and the Business of American Christianity examines Schuller's indelible imprint on the American church, and how he developed a model of ministry-both lauded and critiqued-that transformed Christian life and community across this country. Schuller's story is the starting point for powerful trends that continue to shape much of American religion today: televangelism, seeker-sensitive outreach, megachurches, the suburbanization of white Christianity, pastoral entrepreneurship, and market-oriented Christianity in pursuit of growth.   Authors Mark T. Mulder and Gerardo Martí explore Schuller's drive to develop a theology, a persona, and a set of practices that he believed were necessary to keep Christianity vibrant long into the future. They trace Schuller's career arc from his beginnings as an Iowa farm boy to his years as a charismatic Southern California preacher-one who believed that in order for the church to thrive, pastoral leaders needed to borrow from the best practices of big business, including the entertainment industry. This fascinating biography is essential reading for those who want to fully understand a transformative force in American Christianity.

Teacher. Minister. Theologian. Writer. Mystic. Activist. No single label can capture the multiplicity of Howard Thurman's life, but his influence is written all over the most significant aspects of the Civil Rights movement. In 1936, he visited Mahatma Gandhi in India and subsequently brought Gandhi's concept of nonviolent resistance across the globe to the United States. Later, through his book Jesus and the Disinherited, he foresaw a theology of American liberation based on the life of Jesus as a dispossessed Jew under Roman rule. Paul Harvey's biography of Thurman speaks to the manifold ways this mystic theologian and social activist sought to transform the world to better reflect "that which is God in us," despite growing up in the South during the ugliest years of Jim Crow. After founding one of the first intentionally interracial churches in the country-The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco-he shifted into a mentorship role with Martin Luther King Jr. and other Civil Rights leaders. He advised them to incorporate more inward seeking and rest into their activism, while also thinking of their struggle for racial equality in a more cosmopolitan, universalist manner. Few historical figures represent such diverse parts of the American religious tradition as Howard Thurman did. By telling the story of his religious lives, Paul Harvey gives the reader a window into many of the main currents of twentieth-century American religious expression.

If you don't know Tina Turner's spirituality, you don't know Tina. When Tina Turner reclaimed her throne as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll in the 1980s, she attributed her comeback to one thing: the wisdom and power she found in Buddhism. Her spiritual transformation is often overshadowed by the rags-to-riches arc of her life story. But in this groundbreaking biography, Ralph H. Craig III traces Tina's journey from the Black Baptist church to Buddhism and situates her at the vanguard of large-scale movements in religion and pop culture. Paying special attention to the diverse metaphysical beliefs that shape her spiritual life, Craig untangles Tina's Soka Gakkai Buddhist foundation; her incorporation of New Age ideas popularized in '60s counterculture; and her upbringing in a Black Baptist congregation, alongside the influences of her grandmothers' disciplinary and mystical sensibilities. Through critical engagement with Tina's personal life and public brand, Craig sheds light on how popular culture has been used as a vehicle for authentic religious teaching. Scholars and fans alike will find Dancing in My Dreams as enlightening as the iconic singer herself.

Sojourner Truth's powerful voice calls to us through this evocative narrative of faith in action, and her words are more relevant than ever. Though born into slavery, Sojourner Truth would defy the limits placed upon her as a Black woman to become one of the nineteenth century's most renowned female preachers and civil rights advocates. In “We Will Be Free”, Nancy Koester chronicles her spiritual journey as an enslaved woman, a working mother, and an itinerant preacher and activist. On Pentecost in 1827, the course of Sojourner Truth's life was changed forever when she had a vision of Jesus calling her to preach. Though women could not be trained as ministers at the time, her persuasive speaking, powerful singing, and quick wit converted many to her social causes. During the Civil War, Truth campaigned for the Union to abolish slavery throughout the United States, and she personally recruited Black troops for the effort. Her activism carried her to Washington, DC, where she met Abraham Lincoln and ministered to refugees of Southern slavery. Truth's faith-driven action continued throughout Reconstruction, as she aided freed people, campaigned for reparations, advocated for women's rights, and defied segregation on public transportation. Sojourner Truth's powerful voice once echoed in the streets of Washington and New York. Her passion rings out again in Nancy Koester's vivid writing. As the legacy of slavery and segregation still looms over the United States today, students of American history, Christians, and all interested readers will find inspiration and illumination in Truth's story.

The first critical biography of Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of the Stone-Campbell Movement. A Life of Alexander Campbell examines the core identity of a gifted and determined reformer to whom millions of Christians around the globe today owe much of their identity-whether they know it or not. Douglas Foster assesses principal parts of Campbell's life and thought to discover his significance for American Christianity and the worldwide movement that emerged from his work. He examines Campbell's formation in Ireland, his creation and execution of a reform of Christianity beginning in America, and his despair at the destruction of his vision by the American Civil War. A Life of Alexander Campbell shows why this important but sometimes misunderstood and neglected figure belongs at the heart of the American religious story.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the most beloved English-language poets of all time, lived a life charged with religious drama and vision. The product of a High-Church Anglican family, Hopkins eventually converted to Roman Catholicism and became a priest-after, which he stopped writing poetry for many years and became completely estranged from his Protestant family. A Heart Lost in Wonder provides perspective on the life and work of Gerard Manley Hopkins through both religious and literary interpretation. Catharine Randall tells the story of Hopkins's intense, charged, and troubled life, and along the way shows readers the riches of religious insight he packed into his poetry. By exploring the poet's inner life and the Victorian world in which he lived, Randall helps readers to understand better the context and vision of his astonishing and enduring work.