Contributors explain or describe important ideas, people, events and locations in the 300-year history of Methodism, which now includes over 300 denominations and 39 million members. Topics include the Methodist concepts of grace and salvation, the historical role of women in the church, the lives of circuit-riding preachers and missionaries, and modern Methodism's approach to significant social issues and controversies. This edition expands its focus from North America and Great Britain to include information about Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and the Pacific Islands. The illustrations include period engravings and photographs.

Reference and Research Book News

Released nearly a decade after the first edition, this book represents a substantial expansion of an excellent work....Highly recommended. Any library collection needing information on Christian denominations; all levels.

Choice Reviews

Most useful, perhaps, will be the biographical entries...The bibliography, though, is excellent, and includes a few journal articles....Scarecrow Press have improved the appearance of their volumes greatly in recent years and any library that has a complete set of the volumes in this series will be a library worth using.

Reference Reviews

Contributors to the 2d edition of this recommended reference work are university professors, historians, church officials, musicians, ministers, editors, and missionaries from all over the world.

American Reference Books Annual

A comprehensive and precise collective study of Methodism and Christianity in whole...very highly recommended for students of the history of Methodism for its expansive and through coverage of the many variables and constructs of its church and philosophies.

Midwest Book Review

Its 400-plus pages contain a list of acronyms, a chronology, a full bibliography and a dictionary, the latter consisting of 379 items varying in length from a paragraph to eight pages with headings such as 'Antislavery movement' and 'Jacobus Arminius' to 'Enoch Wood' and 'Worship'....those readers needing to update their knowledge of America's Methodist heritage need to consider getting hold of a copy.

Methodist Recorder