Burning Faith

“A thoroughly researched examination of events that alarmed Americans in the 1990s. Strain provides a sophisticated dissection of the many forces, people, and events at the center of what many regarded as a national crisis.”—Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, University of Connecticut

“As the first book-length look into one of the most racially and religiously explosive issues sweeping the nation in the 1990s, Burning Faith now places Christopher Strain among the pioneering historians today writing on post–Cold War America.”—Devin Fergus, Vanderbilt University

“A well-researched survey of the church fires of the 1990s.”—Choice

“The story of this chapter in American cultural history is complex and has been vastly understudied. … Strain makes a significant contribution … Those interested in the construction of racial meanings and the nature of national conversations about race in our society should study this case.”—Politics and Religion

“Even though racial prejudice was only one of several factors in church arsons during this era, Strain demonstrates how the image of a burned black church resonated with both black and white Americans.”—Journal of African American History

“Strain documents the dizzying number of black church burnings credited to arson throughout the South, and, additionally, he notes church burnings in the north in primarily white attended churches. … Meticulously researched.”—Louisiana History

“Raises many very important questions.”—North Carolina Historical Review