The Promise Keepers

"This book is about much more than just Promise Keepers. It offers critical insight into shifting ideas about masculinity, family, multiculturalism, fraternal associations, men and sports, subcultural boundary work, and grassroots social movements."--Sally K. Gallagher, author of Evangelical Identity and Gendered Family Life The evangelical men's movement widely known as the Promise Keepers--"PK" for short--captured America's imagination and generated intense controversy during the 1990s. PK promoted adherence to a strict code of conduct that masculinized conservative religious and social values. However, the movement now evokes little more than a hazy memory of football stadiums teeming with tear-stained faces and clasped arms that signaled spiritual transformation. What factors contributed to their demise, and what broader insights can be gleaned from the rapid rise and fall of the movement? This is the first book to consider the turbulent forces that contributed to the group's wild popularity, declining fortunes, and subsequent efforts to reinvent itself. John P. Bartkowski provides a broad and balanced portrait of the movement while evaluating its impact on the landscape of American religion. He argues that there is much to be learned about the changing contours of religion, culture, and social life through a study of the Promise Keepers. By carefully examining the character and contagious appeal of the movement, he sheds new light on evangelicalism, gender, family, therapeutic culture, sport, and multiculturalism. John P. Bartkowski is an associate professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. He is the author of Remaking the Godly Marriage: Gender Negotiations in Evangelical Families and the co-author of Charitable Choices: Religion, Race, and Poverty in the Post-Welfare Era.