The Christian Tradition

Ralph Keen is associate professor of religious studies at the University of Iowa. Professor Keen received his doctorate in the history of Christianity from the University of Chicago.

The Christian Tradition, formerly published by Pearson/Prentice Hall, introduces students at the beginning of the third millennium to a religion that has evolved over and shaped two previous millennia. With particular focus placed on the social and cultural background to this tradition, the text provides a stimulating survey of the history of Christianity from its Jewish roots to the challenges it faces in the twenty-first century. This innovative text weaves a consideration of the arts, spirituality, religious life and practice-especially among the laity, women, and others outside the dominant institutional tradition-into its rich historical narrative, and offers a comprehensive and diverse view of the course of Christian history.

Part 1 The Emergence of Christianity Chapter 2 Judaism in Various Forms: An Ambivalent Inheritance Chapter 3 Literature of the Early Church: Texts as Preservers of Experience Chapter 4 Roman Power and Religion: Divine Destinies in Conflict Chapter 5 Worship in the Early Church: A Case Study in Adaptation Part 6 The Christian Religion in Late Antiquity Chapter 7 The Emergence of Hierarchy: Papal Beginnings Chapter 8 The Flourishing of Liturgy: Devotion Through Ritual and Imagery Chapter 9 The Monastic Microcosm: The Benedictine Norm and Reform Chapter 10 The Expansion of the Church: First Missionary Movements and the Crusades Part 11 Medieval Western Christian Culture Chapter 12 Carolingian Culture and Religion: A Medieval Renaissance Chapter 13 Scholasticism: From Anselm to Aquinas Chapter 14 The Church and the Law: The Investiture Controversy Chapter 15 The Mendicant Orders and Lay Movements: New Forms of Religious Life Chapter 16 Scholasticism and Salvation: The Sacramental System Chapter 17 Spirituality and Mystical Experience: Medieval Mystics Part 18 From Medieval to Modern, from One Church, Many Chapter 19 Launching the Reformation: Martin Luther's Revolution Chapter 20 Development of the Reformation: The Spread of Protestantism Chapter 21 Protestant Orthodoxy: Developments in Scholasticism Chapter 22 Reformation-Era Catholicism: Reaction and New Religious Orders Chapter 23 The Challenge of Rationalism: Skepticism and Faith in the 17th Century Chapter 24 Early American Religion: Between Reformation and Enlightenment Part 25 From Enlightenment to Modernity Chapter 26 Enlightenment Religion: Adaptations in an Age of Progress Chapter 27 The Dawn of Modern Religion: The West and its Missions Chapter 28 Challenges to the English Church: The Oxford Movement and Evolution Chapter 29 Nineteenth-century America: Religious Diversity and Revivalism Chapter 30 Roman Catholicism: Confronting the Modern World Part 31 The Twentieth Century and Beyond Chapter 32 Social Christianity: The Dawn of the 20th Century Chapter 33 The Crisis of War: The Recovery of Orthodoxy Chapter 34 Ecumenical Initiatives: The World Council of Churches and Vatican II Chapter 35 Mainstreams and Margins: Colonialism and Liberation Theology Chapter 36 Christianity at the Dawn of the Third Millennium