Publication Date: Dec 2019
RRP: $49.95
ISBN: 9781925835366
Format: Hardback
Size: 153mm x 234mm
Pages: 672
Category: Australian History, History

Attending to the National Soul

Evangelical Christians in Australian History, 1914-2014

Stuart Piggin and Robert D. Linder

Also available as an ebook from your favourite retailer.


‘There has probably never been a better history of evangelical traditions in a single country.’ Mark Noll, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

‘Stuart Piggin and Robert D. Linder discuss the impact of this vibrant interdenominational movement on Australia with clarity, authority and critical sympathy.’ David Bebbington, Professor of History, University of Stirling

‘A great achievement and one that will help over time to change the way Australian history is written.’ Wayne Hudson, Professor in Australian Studies, Australian National University


Shortlisted, Australian Christian Book of the Year 2020

In this major new contribution Stuart Piggin and Robert Linder tell the story of how Australian evangelical Christians responded to the decline of the British empire and to the expanding international reach of their religious mission and beliefs, of how these Christians reacted to the challenges of secularism, and of how they have sought to ‘attend to the national soul’: sensitising the national conscience and helping to shape the national consciousness.

The authors offer an extensive treatment of evangelical involvement in World Wars I and II and in the wars in Korea and Vietnam. They consider Alan Walker and Billy Graham and the development of an energetic evangelism more calculated to address global fears and personal anxieties. And they show that by the beginning of the 21st century conservative, progressive and Pentecostal branches had each learned the necessity of bringing a prophetic ministry to bear on social issues.

This ambitious study seeks to recognise the influence of ‘the public opening up of the word of Christ to the world’, ‘to tell the truth about his influence’ on Australia’s social and cultural history, and to show that evangelical Christianity continues to be as much a public ethic as a personal credo.

See also Volume I: The Fountain of Public Prosperity: Evangelical Christians in Australian History, 1740-1914


Stuart Piggin

Conjoint Associate Professor Stuart Piggin was Director of the Centre for the History of Christian Thought and Experience at Macquarie University (2005–16) and Head of the Department of Christian Thought of the Australian College of Theology. He is a Fellow of the...
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Robert D. Linder

Robert D. Linder was the Distinguished Professor of History at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, and an acknowledged authority on modern religious history. He was the author or editor of fourteen books and more than one hundred articles in history...
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