Freedom's Coming - by Paul Harvey (Paperback)

About the Book

Freedom's Coming: Religious Culture and the Shaping of the South from the Civil War through the Civil Rights Era

Book Synopsis

In a sweeping analysis of religion in the post-Civil War and twentieth-century South, Freedom's Coming puts race and culture at the center, describing southern Protestant cultures as both priestly and prophetic: as southern formal theology sanctified dominant political and social hierarchies, evangelical belief and practice subtly undermined them. The seeds of subversion, Paul Harvey argues, were embedded in the passionate individualism, exuberant expressive forms, and profound faith of believers in the region.

Harvey explains how black and white religious folk within and outside of mainstream religious groups formed a southern "evangelical counterculture" of Christian interracialism that challenged the theologically grounded racism pervasive among white southerners and ultimately helped to end Jim Crow in the South. Moving from the folk theology of segregation to the women who organized the Montgomery bus boycott, from the hymn-inspired freedom songs of the 1960s to the influence of black Pentecostal preachers on Elvis Presley, Harvey deploys cultural history in fresh and innovative ways and fills a decades-old need for a comprehensive history of Protestant religion and its relationship to the central question of race in the South for the postbellum and twentieth-century period.

In a sweeping analysis of religion in the post-Civil War and twentieth-century South, Freedom's Coming puts race and culture at the center, describing southern Protestant cultures as both priestly and prophetic: as southern formal theology sanctified dominant political and social hierarchies, evangelical belief and practice subtly undermined them. Harvey explains how black and white religious folk within and outside of mainstream religious groups formed a southern "evangelical counterculture" of Christian interracialism that challenged the theologically grounded racism pervasive among white southerners and ultimately helped to end Jim Crow in the South.

Review Quotes

"[A] rich, complex book. . . . An important contribution to the history of religion and race in the South."
-- "Anglican and Episcopal History"

"[H]is interpretive theme of illusive freedom proves an effective way to make religion central to the overall southern story."
-- Charles Reagan Wilson, University of Mississippi, general editor of "The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture"

"[T]his book is a testimony to years of serious reflection on a mountain of material."
-- "The North Carolina Historical Review"

"[W]ell written and accessible to anyone interested in the questions of race and religion in the South."
-- "The Alabama Review"

"A wonderful book, useful for classes, well written and thoroughly researched."
-- "Church History"

"Harvey has done it again. . . . An outstanding contribution to studies in American cultural and religious history."
-- "Baptist History-Heritage"

"Harvey has produced a beautifully written, detailed, and textured work that history readers will savor."
-- "Choice"

[H]is interpretive theme of illusive freedom proves an effective way to make religion central to the overall southern story.

Charles Reagan Wilson, University of Mississippi, general editor of "The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture"

[T]his book is a testimony to years of serious reflection on a mountain of material.

"The North Carolina Historical Review"

[W]ell written and accessible to anyone interested in the questions of race and religion in the South.

"The Alabama Review"

A wonderful book, useful for classes, well written and thoroughly researched.

"Church History"

Harvey has produced a beautifully written, detailed, and textured work that history readers will savor.

"Choice"

ÝH¨is interpretive theme of illusive freedom proves an effective way to make religion central to the overall southern story.

Charles Reagan Wilson, University of Mississippi, general editor of "The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture"

ÝT¨his book is a testimony to years of serious reflection on a mountain of material.

"The North Carolina Historical Review"

ÝW¨ell written and accessible to anyone interested in the questions of race and religion in the South.

"The Alabama Review"