Author Description

As the Roaring Twenties came to a close, it appeared that faith-based fervor had given way to a modern age of liberal tolerance, But in fact, that decade was not the last gasp of nineteenth century traditionalism. Rather, the religious surge of the twenties was a prologue to our own age, a time when religion plays a central role in culture, politics, media, social ife, and even public scandal. This work is a look at the rise of evagelicalism in the Jazz Age, and how it set the stage for the pervasive influence of the modern religious right. The author takes the reader on a tour of the Roaring Twenties and the barn burning preachers who led the temperance movement, the Jazz Age equivalent to today's fundamentalist anti abortion crusaders. Along the way, we meet a host of colorful characters: a Baptist minister who commits adultery in the White House; media star preachers caught in massive scandals; a presidential election hinging on a religious issue; and fundamentalists and liberals slugging it out in the culture war of the day. The religious roar of that decade was a prologue to the last three decades. With the religious right in disarray today after its long ascendancy, this book is a timely look at a parallel age when preachers held sway and politicians answered to the pulpit.