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Boyd, Ian S.

History

2006

MA

This thesis examines the message evangelist William "Billy" Sunday delivered to New York City over a ten week period in the spring of 1917. More specifically, it addresses how Sunday's conservative Christian theology was received by a population that had historically rejected religious revivals. In so doing, this thesis examines the influence of the dramatic economic, political, and social changes that took place during the first two decades of the twentieth century, and how these changes affected New York residents' perception of Sunday and his campaign. Ultimately, it is the goal of this thesis to help explain how one can better understand and reconcile the relationship between the "progressive" ideals of the early twentieth century with the conservative theology of evangelical Christianity.