Reviving the Ancient Faith

A balanced, well-documented history of the Churches of Christ in America

The Churches of Christ is a denomination defined by not being a denomination. These communities intended to restore a primitive Christianity, undivided by historical quarrels.

Despite this ideal, the Churches of Christ in America have a surprisingly complex history dating back to the nineteenth century. James L. Gorman’s fresh edition of Richard T. Hughes’s classic work, Reviving the Ancient Faith, illuminates the movement started by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. The authors trace the movement’s sociological transformation into a denomination from the 1830s into the twentieth century. Four developments forged this new identity: the premillennialist controversy, the divide over institutions, the racial segregation of congregations and schools, and the fight over liberalism in the 1960s. New to the third edition, the final chapters bring the history of Churches of Christ from the 1960s up to 2022, analyzing the growing diversity of the movement amid intradenominational “culture wars.”

Reviving the Ancient Faith,eviving the Ancient Faithreaders to learn the historical basis of Church of Christ identity and beliefs. Students of the history of the Church of Christ and American religion will derive from its pages a more holistic and informed understanding of the tradition.

Table of Contents

Preface to First Edition

Preface to Second Edition

Glossary

          Introduction: The Character of Churches of Christ

Part One: The Making of a Sect

          1. The Rise and Radicalization of Alexander Campbell

          2. The Apocalyptic Outlook of Churches of Christ

Part Two: The Making of a Denomination

          3. Decline of Apocalypticism and Rise of Christian America

          4. Grace, Law, and Competing Journalism Styles

          5. The Fight over Modernization

          6. Segregation and Independence of Black Churches of Christ

Part Three: The Fragmentation of a Denomination

          7. Fragmentation Left and Right in the 1960s and 1970s

          8. Renewal, Reform, and Resistance from the 1970s to 1990s

          9. Identity Crisis amid Decline in the Twenty-First Century

Notes

Index of Authors

Index of Subjects