H. Shelton Smith

The Gentlemen Theologians

History & Biography

“In this minutely documented study, Professor Holifield, a brilliant . . . scholar, demolishes the myth that the Old South's clergy were ardent devotees of emotional religion but showed very little interest in a rational faith. In fact, the urban areas contained a considerable number of Catholic and Protestant leaders who were well acquainted with theological developments on the Continent and in Great Britain, and who produced carefully reasoned works in theology and moral philosophy. To be sure, their patterns of thought were predominantly orthodox, but they were by no means uncritical of the various types of orthodoxy. Professor Holifield has opened important new vistas on southern theology, and his penetrating exploration demands serious attention.”