Aliens and Strangers? The Struggle for Coherence in the Everyday Lives of Evangelicals, by Anna Strhan

Proselytizing is not evangelism: epistemic virtue and religious suasion at a post‐fundamentalist church in Nashville

“…Many anthropologists have focused on the intellectualized dimension of evangelicalism. They have helped us to understand a range of things, like the cultivation of evangelical subjectivities (Strhan 2015) and spiritualities (Luhrmann 2012); evangelicals’ attempts to demonstrate the reasonableness of their religion against entrenched societal assumptions about the irrationality of belief (Engelke 2013); their strategies for interpreting texts (Bielo 2009 b ; Crapanzano 2001; Malley 2004); and the power of evangelicals’ critiques of each other to fuel new iterations of the movement's recursive counterculturalism (Bielo 2011; Brahinsky 2020 a ).…”

“…As many other anthropologists have observed, evangelicals spend a lot of time ruminating over the theological implications, the intersubjective politics, and the interactional grammar of evangelism (cf. Bielo 2011; Bornstein 2003; Brahinsky 2020 a ; Elisha 2011; Engelke 2013; Harding 2000; Howell 2012; Montemaggi 2018; Strhan 2015). Many evangelicals are concerned not just about the effectiveness of their efforts but also about the ethics and politics of facilitating good conversions (see Kravel‐Tovi, this issue).…”

Identities in flux: evangelical identity in the time of Brexit and Trump

“…Evangelicals have an internationalist outlook and are politically mobilised around issues more than party affiliation in Britain. Moreover, white British evangelicals themselves do not desire a political impact in the way that most white American evangelicals do (Hatcher 2017b;Strhan 2015). Given the significant role of religion, particularly Anglicanism, in the referendum, and the impact of Brexit for years to come, it is crucial that further qualitative research investigates how Christian identities continue to change in relation to political events.…”

“…Although British evangelicals, similar to their US counterparts, express a desire to shape society through their faith, the means and ends to which they aspire differ (Robbins 2012;Strhan 2015).…”

“…In 1982, John Wimber, a charismatic pastor from California, came to Britain and influenced evangelical Anglican churches by promoting 'spiritual gifts', such as speaking in tongues, healings and miracles (Anderson 2014, 7). In addition to a supernatural form of worship and a close, interpersonal relationship with God, charismatic evangelicals are characterised by an active participation in religious practices (Guest 2007;Luhrmann 2012;Strhan 2015;Warner 2007;Woodhead 2004). In one study, 94% of British charismatics reported attending Sunday services at least twice a month (Robbins and Kay, 2015, 140).…”