Cowboy Christians

Synopsis

Cowboy Christians examines the long history of cowboy Christianity in the American West, with a focus on the present-day cowboy church movement. Based on five years of historical and sociological fieldwork in cowboy Christian communities, this book draws on interviews with leaders of cowboy churches, traveling rodeo ministries, and chaplains who serve horse racing and bull riding communities, along with the author's first-hand experiences as a participant observer. Marie W. Dallam traces cowboy Christianity from the postbellum period into the twenty-first century, looking at religious life among cowboys on the range as well as its representation in popular imagery and the media. She examines the structure, theology, and perpetuation of the modern cowboy church, and speculates on future challenges the institution may face, such as the relegation of women to subordinate participant roles at a time of increasing gender equality in the larger society. She also explores the cowboy Christian proclivity for blending the secular and the sacred in leisure environments like arenas, racetracks, and rodeos. Dallam locates the modern cowboy church as a descendant of the muscular Christianity movement, the Jesus movement, and new paradigm church methodology. Cowboy Christians establishes the religious significance of the cowboy church movement, particularly relative to twenty-first-century evangelical Protestantism, and contributes to a deeper understanding of the unique Christianity of the American West.

Copyright:

2018

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780190856588

Related ISBNs:

9780190856564, 9780190856571

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Date of Addition:

12/15/22

Copyrighted By:

Oxford University Press

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Religion and Spirituality, Sociology

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.