Churches, Revolutions And Empires

"The period from 1789 to 1914 was the crucible in which the modern world was born. A time of revolution, upheaval, empire and war, it shaped Europe and thus the rest of the world. As a result, any understanding of the world today must be built on a clear grasp of what happened during this time. Ian Shaw is a first-rate historian and this is a first-rate book which should take its place as a standard account of the period."

-- Carl R. Trueman (Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies, Grove City College, Pennsylvania)

"The book is clear, well arranged and up-to-date in its absorption of recent research. It covers the full range of denominations across the globe, setting religion firmly in its socio-political context and so addressing central historical issues such as empire and national identity. It is likely to command a wide readership in universities, theological colleges, ministers' studies and private homes."

-- David Bebbington (Professor of History, University of Stirling, Stirling)

"Clear, comprehensive, well-informed about the history of western churches, unusually perceptive about Christian developments elsewhere in the world, and throughout written in entirely accessible prose. Students and experienced readers should both welcome this most helpful volume."

-- Mark A. Noll (Author of ‘America’s Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794–1911’)

"...capably and confidently charts the course of the western church through this era of upheaval and change. Shaw's grasp of primary and secondary sources is impressive, as is his ability to synthesize. This is history on the big scale and an excellent example of such."

-- Michael A. G. Haykin (Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky)

"I think this is a most impressive book. A book like this should become a standard work in the way that Alec Vidler's Church in an Age of Revolution used to be."

-- Ian Randall (International Baptist Theological Seminary, Prague, Czech Republic)

"I have long been looking for a text that would help my students in Africa understand the double development of a post western Christianity as well as a post Christian west. With Ian Shaw's extraordinary book Churches, Revolutions and Empires, that search is over."

-- Mark Shaw (Director of the Centre for World Christianity, Africa International University, Nairobi, Kenya)

"Ian Shaw's book will give a sure and illuminating guide to these multiple processes of revolutionary change which began to redraw the contours of world Christianity."

-- Brian Stanley (Professor of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh and editor of Cambridge History of Christianity: World Christianities, 1815-1914)

... anyone who wants to understand the issues churches face today needs a clear understanding of the past, so serious readers besides students of history and church leaders will find this a satisfying and illuminating read.

-- Evangelicals