Respectable Methodism: Nathan Bangs and Respectability in Nineteenth-Century American Methodism - Paperback

by Daniel F. Flores (Author), Russell E. Richey (Foreword by)

The Wesleyan-Methodist movement entered American history as a fragment of British Methodism. It quickly took on a new identity in the early republic and grew into a vibrant denomination in the nineteenth century. The transitions from the rugged pioneer religion modeled by Bishop Francis Asbury to the urbane religion of industrial America was by design the goal of influential leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Nathan Bangs was perhaps one of the most significant of such leaders. He rose from obscurity to the ranks of power and influence by refining patterns of worship, expanding denominational publishing, and structuring ministerial education. This study is concerned with the development of respectability in American Methodism. It also explores questions on how Bangs and other leaders dealt with in-house conflicts on issues related to race, slavery, and the poor.

Author Biography

Daniel F. Flores is the university librarian and Sappenfield Chair of Library Science at Texas Lutheran University and an elder in the Rio Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. He served as general editor and contributor of Los Profetas: The Prophetic Role of Hispanic Churches in America (2022). Dr. Flores lives in Seguin with his wife Rev. Dr. Thelma Herrera Flores.