A review by samrher
American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism by Matthew Avery Sutton

4.0

the more cultural history i read, the more i wonder if i need to be a social historian. this is a fantastic read and pulls through the thread of apocalyptic theology and ideology in 20th century america. sutton shows so much important transformation from fundamentalism to evangelicalism while also showing the continuity between the movements. but throughout the book, i was so hungry to read about what structural and material considerations would influence these christians to frame their apocalypticism in the way they did. it’s not a given that the end of the world looks like evolution being taught in schools: so what motivated this framing? this isn’t even a gripe with the book, just a different perspective i want to read now.