Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World

This volume is an excellent addition to the publishing lists for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran reformation. Ryrie (Being Protestant in Reformation Britain), an expert on the Reformation and winner of the Society of Renaissance Studies’ 2014 book prize, aims for a biography of Protestantism itself, rather than any particular Protestant figure or sect. In pursuit of this, Ryrie divides his work into three sections: reformation, the historical roots and early years of Protestantism; transformation, the philosophical development and geographic spread of the Reformation; and globalization, the most recent stages in the development and international adoption of Protestantism. The sections and chapters are thematic rather than strictly chronological; one chapter, for example, follows the fortunes of Protestantism in Nazi Germany. The next chapter then goes backward, chronologically speaking, to move the story to 19th-century America, the rise of evangelical fundamentalism, and the civil rights movement. Ryrie is careful to anchor the reader throughout; even non-specialists will never get lost in the tangle. He also provides a glossary of “types of Protestant” for easy reference as well as an excellent set of endnotes. (Apr.)