During the tumultuous period of world history from 1660 to 1815, three complex movements combined to bring a fundamental cultural reorientation to Europe and North America, and ultimately to the wider world. The Enlightenment transformed views of nature and of the human capacity to master nature. The religious reawakenings brought a revival of heartfelt, experiential Christianity. Finally revolution, the political and social upheavals of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, challenged established ideas of divine-right monarchies and divinely ordained social hierarchies, and promoted more democratic government, notions of human rights and religious toleration. A new religious climate emerged, in which people were more likely to look to their own feelings and experiences for the basis of their faith. During this same period, Christianity spread widely around the world as a result of colonialism and missions, and responded in diverse ways to its encounters with other cultures and religious traditions.
Introduction Stewart J. Brown and Timothy Tackett; Part I. Church, State and Society in the European World, 1660-1780: 1. Continental Catholic Europe Nigel Aston; 2. Continental Protestant Europe Hartmut Lehmann; 3. Great Britain and Ireland J. C. D. Clark; 4. The Church in economy and society Philip Hoffman; Part II. Christian Life in the European World, 1660-1780: 5. The Catholic clergy in Europe Mario Rosa; 6. The Protestant clergies in the European world Andrew Holmes; 7. Reaching audiences: sermons and oratory in Europe Joris van Eijnatten; 8. Christian education Dominique Julia; 9. Christianity and gender Merry Wiesner-Hanks; 10. Popular religion Willem Frijhoff; 11. Jewish-Christian relations Frances Malino; 12. Architecture and Christianity Jean-Michel Leniaud; Part III. Movements and Challenges: 13. Christianity and the rise of sciences 1660-1815 Louis Châtellier; 14. The Enlightenment critique of Christianity Margaret C. Jacob; 15. The Christian Enlightenment Helena Rosenblatt; 16. Jansenism and the international supression of the Jesuits Dale Van Kley; 17. Evangelical awakenings in the North Atlantic world W. R. Ward; 18. Toleration and movements of Christian reunion: 1660-1789 James E. Bradley; Part IV. Christian Developments in the Non-European World: 19. Christianity in Iberian America James D. Riley; 20. British and French North America through 1765 Mark A. Noll; 21. Christianity in Africa Lamin Sanneh; 22. Christianity in South and Southeast Asia Charles J. Borges; 23. Christianity in East Asia R. G. Tiedemann; 24. Christian encounters with other world religions A. C. Ross; Part V. Revolution and the Christian World: 25. The American Revolution and religion: 1765-1815 Martin Marty; 26. Christianity and the campaign against slavery and the slave trade Christopher Brown; 27. The French Revolution and religion: through 1794 Timothy Tackett; 28. The French Revolution and religion: 1795-1815 Suzanne Desan; 29. Movements of Christian awakenings in revolutionary Europe, 1790-1815 Stewart J. Brown.
