Abstract

During the early twentieth century, Los Angeles experienced a surge of evangelical Christianity within its city limits. With its emphasis on evangelism and having a personal relationship with Christ, evangelicalism became a notable religious option for Angelinos. This awakening contained four distinct events: the beginning of the Church of the Nazarene, the rise of Pentecostalism, the founding of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, and the career of Aimee Semple McPherson. This study will examine how these individual events interacted with the city of Los Angeles as well as how the events related to each other. By looking at these key relationships, a broader sense of the evangelical movement can be obtained. My study is also informed by the current scholarly view that Los Angeles was a marketplace of religion during the early twentieth century. Using this marketplace analogy, I argue that Los Angeles evangelicalism functioned primarily on a tense relationship between theology and image.

Advisor

Hettinger, Madonna

Department

History

Disciplines

History of Religion

Keywords

evangelicalism, Los Angeles, theology, religious performance

Publication Date

2014

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

Download

Share

COinS
 

© Copyright 2014 Morgan W. Clark