Evangelicalism: The Next Generation

Does conservative protestantism have a future?
For much of the twentieth century religious analysts and observers predicted that American evangelicalism would crack under the pressure of secularization and modernity. Responding to such forecasts, this study by Smidt and Penning is set within the broad framework of secularization theory and attempts to ascertain whether religious subcultures are and will be able to sustain and maintain distinctive identities and beliefs within modern social life.

Replicating the classic study conducted in James Davison Hunter¹s Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation, this book examines if the next generation of evangelicals will continue to exhibit or deviate from the characteristics of students of the early 1980s by thoroughly examining the religious beliefs, moral values, political attitudes, and social tolerance of students today. The book critiques Hunter¹s contention that the coming generation of evangelicals will exhibit greater accommodation to American culture, be less religiously distinctive, and be more tolerant than previous generations of evangelicals. Further, this study explores whether the future generation of evangelicals is unique or is simply one that reflects continuity with the past and full integration within the larger evangelical subculture of today.

As opposed to Hunter¹s pessimism concerning the role of evangelical higher education, Smidt and Penning believe that such colleges and universities serve a vital and robust role in passing on the faith. And thus subsequently the future of conservative Protestantism, while impacted by secularization and modernity, may indeed be brighter than that which Hunter forecasted twenty years ago. This scholarly yet accessible book will be of particular interest to scholars and students of sociology and religion and will also appeal to those interested in the coming generation of evangelicals and the colleges that train them.