Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
History
Date of Award
5-2024
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Jennifer A. Adler
Committee Members
Tom Lee, Elwood Watson
Abstract
The Appalachian Preaching Missions (1955-1981) occurred annually in Northeast Tennessee, with their predecessor, the Bristol Preaching Mission, dating back to at least 1949. Local churches, primarily Protestant, organized and convened these annual ecumenical gatherings. Nationally known clergy and laypeople from various denominations spoke, with up to several thousand congregants attending each mission. These individuals provided sermons and speeches on spiritual, domestic, and international issues. Among the most consistently repeated sermon themes was Christianity’s spiritual conflict with atheistic communism. This work addresses the missions’ origins and how the speakers spoke on international Christian missions in decolonized or developing nations as threatened by communist regimes, anxieties of nuclear proliferation, and the need for ecumenical cooperation. This work demonstrates that the choice of subject matter and speakers at the missions reflected wider American anti-communism, an increased politicization of Christianity, and ecumenical coalition building.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Lay, Braden, "“They Can’t Just Stamp Out This Faith”: Cold War Anti-Communism and International Evangelism at the Appalachian Preaching Mission" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4389. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4389
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Appalachian Studies Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religion Commons, United States History Commons