Overview

The first book-length treatment of its topic, this study is aimed at abolishing the old cliche that Congregationalism failed to adapt to the democratizing culture of the westward migration. Drawing on hundreds of previously unused letters, journals, and sermons, the author argues that Congregational missionaries were aggressive evangelists who successfully adjusted to the egalitarian demands of the early republican frontier. Keepers of the Covenant critically examines the various explanations for the decline of Congregationalism after the American Revolution, and in the process, overturns generalizations that have prevailed for years. The conclusion offers a reinterpretation of Congregationalist decline that challenges much conventional wisdom about church growth. It will interest not only church historians and students of early republican America, but also sociologists and all those concerned with the decline of the Protestant ""mainline"" today.

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9780195091663

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A much-needed corrective of post-Revolutionary congregational evangelism. --Choice<br> Rather than superseding a historiographical tradition, Rohrer's study adds substantially to our growing understanding of religious institutions in the early national era. --The Journal of American History<br> It is a fascinating entree on a subject which has elicited few works and has been neglected and virtually ignored too long by professional historians. The work is incisive and beautifully written with the author displaying careful scholarship and exhaustive research. --Ohio History<br> This excellent study of the Connecticut Missionary Society (CMS) challenges recent interpretations to account for the precipitous decline of New England Congregationalism in the early republic....Keepers of the Covenant is convincing in nearly every way. --The Journal of Religion<br> I admire many things about this tightly focused, clearly argued, and well-written book, not the least of which are Rohrer's sensitivity to the theological context within which CMS evangelists labored and his insistence on understanding them within the context of their own era. --William and Mary Quarterly<br>

A much-needed corrective of post-Revolutionary congregational evangelism. --Choice Rather than superseding a historiographical tradition, Rohrer's study adds substantially to our growing understanding of religious institutions in the early national era. --The Journal of American History It is a fascinating entree on a subject which has elicited few works and has been neglected and virtually ignored too long by professional historians. The work is incisive and beautifully written with the author displaying careful scholarship and exhaustive research. --Ohio History This excellent study of the Connecticut Missionary Society (CMS) challenges recent interpretations to account for the precipitous decline of New England Congregationalism in the early republic....Keepers of the Covenant is convincing in nearly every way. --The Journal of Religion I admire many things about this tightly focused, clearly argued, and well-written book, not the least of which are Rohrer's sensitivity to the theological context within which CMS evangelists labored and his insistence on understanding them within the context of their own era. --William and Mary Quarterly A much-needed corrective of post-Revolutionary congregational evangelism. --Choice Rather than superseding a historiographical tradition, Rohrer's study adds substantially to our growing understanding of religious institutions in the early national era. --The Journal of American History It is a fascinating entree on a subject which has elicited few works and has been neglected and virtually ignored too long by professional historians. The work is incisive and beautifully written with the author displaying careful scholarship and exhaustive research. --Ohio History This excellent study of the Connecticut Missionary Society (CMS) challenges recent interpretations to account for the precipitous decline of New England Congregationalism in the early republic....Keepers of the Covenant is convincing in nearly every way. --The Journal of Religion I admire many things about this tightly focused, clearly argued, and well-written book, not the least of which are Rohrer's sensitivity to the theological context within which CMS evangelists labored and his insistence on understanding them within the context of their own era. --William and Mary Quarterly The book is a reliable corrective to much in the literature...Rohrer has written an important, disciplined monograph that illustrates vividly that there is no substitute for returning to the sources and giving them the respectful attention they always deserve. --hurch History

<br> A much-needed corrective of post-Revolutionary congregational evangelism. --Choice<p><br> Rather than superseding a historiographical tradition, Rohrer's study adds substantially to our growing understanding of religious institutions in the early national era. --The Journal of American History<p><br> It is a fascinating entree on a subject which has elicited few works and has been neglected and virtually ignored too long by professional historians. The work is incisive and beautifully written with the author displaying careful scholarship and exhaustive research. --Ohio History<p><br> This excellent study of the Connecticut Missionary Society (CMS) challenges recent interpretations to account for the precipitous decline of New England Congregationalism in the early republic....Keepers of the Covenant is convincing in nearly every way. --The Journal of Religion<p><br> I admire many things about this tightly focused, clearly argued, and well-written book, not the least of which are Rohrer's sensitivity to the theological context within which CMS evangelists labored and his insistence on understanding them within the context of their own era. --William and MaryQuarterly<p><br>

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