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Palgrave Macmillan

Church Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing in Twentieth-Century America

Retailing Religion

  • Book
  • © 2022

Overview

Authors:
  1. John C. Hardin

    1. Rock Hill, USA

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  • Provides a comprehensive exploration of the triumphs, challenges, and contradictions of selling the sacred
  • Explains how the shift from a producer to a consumer orientation increased the rationalism and pluralism
  • Introduces a wide-range of preachers, journalists, and scholars, from the well-known to the unknown

Part of the book series: Histories of the Sacred and Secular, 1700–2000 (HISASE)

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Table of contents (17 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Brave New World

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 1-17

  3. A Love Affair with Business Management and Efficiency

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 19-44

  4. Men with a Mission

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 45-65

  5. Nothing So Secular It Cannot Be Sacred

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 67-87

  6. The Customer Is Always Right

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 89-106

  7. A Big Tent

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 107-127

  8. A Rose By Any Other Name

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 129-150

  9. Open All Summer, Splendid Music, Cool and Comfortable

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 151-167

  10. Felt Needs

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 169-187

  11. The Church of Tomorrow

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 189-203

  12. Message or Method?

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 205-229

  13. Losing My Religion

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 231-247

  14. All the World’s a Stage

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 249-267

  15. Unchurched Harry, Hostile Harry, Curious Harry

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 269-292

  16. The Things of God, the Things of Man

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 293-313

  17. Megawatt, Megamarket, Megachurch

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 315-332

  18. The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

    • John C. Hardin
    Pages 333-358

  19. Back Matter

    Pages 359-391
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Keywords

About this book

This book examines the complex relationship between religion and business in twentieth-century America. It is the story of how Christianity’s most basic institution, the local church, wrestled with the challenges and compromises of competing in the modern marketplace through adopting the advertising, public relations, and marketing methods of business. It follows these sacred promoters, and their critics, as they navigated between divinely inspired and consumer demanded. Amid an animated and contentious battleground for principles, practices and parishioners, John C. Hardin explores the landscape of selling religion in America and its evolution over the twentieth century. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • Rock Hill, USA

    John C. Hardin

About the author

John C. Hardin holds a PhD in U.S. History from the University of Maryland, USA. He works at the intersection of culture and social change, drawing on his experience as a scholar, philanthropic leader, musician, and former pastor. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Church Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing in Twentieth-Century America

  • Book Subtitle: Retailing Religion

  • Authors: John C. Hardin

  • Series Title: Histories of the Sacred and Secular, 1700–2000

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13044-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-13043-4Published: 15 December 2022

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-13046-5Published: 15 December 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-13044-1Published: 14 December 2022

  • Series ISSN: 2946-3351

  • Series E-ISSN: 2946-336X

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XV, 391

  • Topics: US History, History of Religion, Modern History

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