The Christian Tradition introduces students at the beginning of a new millennium to a religion that has evolved over and shaped two previous millennia. With particular focus placed on the social and cultural background to this tradition, the text provides a stimulating survey of the history of Christianity from its Jewish roots to the challenges it faces in the twenty-first century. This innovative text weaves a consideration of the arts, spirituality, religious life and practice--especially among the laity, women, and others outside the dominant institutional tradition--into its historical narrative, and offers a comprehensive and diverse view of the course of Christian history.

KEY FEATURES INCLUDE

• An innovative social and cultural history of Christianity
• Special consideration given to the religious life and arts of Christianity
• Biographical profiles highlighting the lives and works of influential figures
• Extracts from the writings of key religious personalities
• Boxes with key statistical data
• Timelines providing overviews of important events in each period
• Nine maps with historical and geographical context
• End-of-chapter key terms
• Over 100 color and black-and-white illustrations

• Flexibility—Organized into a set of thirty chapters grouped into major sections that can be read selectively or alongside primary texts if Christian history is only a part of the course.

  • Offers instructors a text that can be tailored to fit their curriculum needs.

• Inclusive subject matter—Includes heretics as a part of the history of Christianity; takes the voices of laity and women seriously.

  • Provides students and instructorswith a unique survey that is set apart from more “orthodox” histories.

• Art and music as Christian cultural traditions—Recognizes the arts as valuable media of religious communication.

  • Offers instructors a sympathetic narrative that opens up art and music as Christian cultural traditions to a degree not found in other texts.

• Ample use of feature boxes, timelines, and excerpts.

  • Provides students with an extra measure of help in studying and understanding.

• End-of-chapter key terms.

  • Enables students to quickly review key terms used in the chapter.

• Section bibliographies—Includes references to recent CDs and websites pertinent to the topics presented in the text.

  • Gives students a resource for further study.