The material study of American Protestantism

Abstract

This article traces the history of the material study of American Protestantism from the 1980s to today. In the 1980s, a few scholars of American religions started to incorporate material culture studies into their work. They examined religious images, objects, places, and practices according to new interdisciplinary methods. By the mid‐1990s, the material study of American Protestantism exploded and emerged as a distinct subfield in the study of American religions. This subfield gave way to four general approaches, including studying American Protestantism as print culture, visual culture, material sensations, and new materialism. This article also presents themes that invigorate the subfield today, such as studying presence in Protestantism, texts as objects, the agency of objects, Black religious experiences, gender and sexuality, and cross‐cultural encounters. It concludes by offering insights into the influences and challenges of the subfield, as well as areas in the subfield that invite more research.