Cosmos in the Chaos: Philip Schaff's Interpretation of Nineteenth-Century American Religion - Paperback

by Stephen R. Graham (Author)

Philip Schaff is considered the founder of the discipline of church history in America, and he was the foremost practitioner of that discipline in nineteenth-century America. In this book Stephen R. Graham provides the first in-depth treatment of Schaff's analysis of religion in American and, by means of that study, examines not only Schaff's thought but also the development of religion in the United States in the nineteenth century.

Topics covered include the three "threats" to American Christianity as conceived by Schaff -- sectarianism, romanism, and rationalism; Schaff's understanding of the American experiment of separation of church and state; Schaff's conception of America as playing a unique role in world and Christian history; and Schaff's contributions to ecumenism.

Author Biography

Stephen R. Graham is associate professor of American church history at North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois. He has written extensively on Philip Schaff, including articles in scholarly journals and a chapter on Schaff in Broadman History of Church Historians.