A History of Pastoral Care in America

By E. Brooks Holifield

Here, for the first time, the development of pastoral care as a discipline has been documented. Dr. Holifield details the shift in emphasis from saving souls to supporting individuals in self-realization, and in the process raises thought-provoking questions about the preoccupation with psychological methodology evident in modern society and clergy. Every pastor wittingly or unwittingly adopts some 'theory' of pastoral counseling, whether it be derived from the seventeenth century or from the twentieth, says Dr. Holifield. From colonial America's intellectual approach to today's therapeutic self culture, he explores those theories. Theological, social, economic, and psychological threads are interwoven with fascinating conversational examples to show how Protestantism helped to form--and was influenced by--changing social orders. Broad in scope, scholarly in detail, yet immensely readable, this is an important book for clinical pastoral educators, students, professionals--everyone interested in church and social history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597523429
• ISBN13: 9781597523424
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

History of Pastoral Care in America

A solid historical study is provided by E. Brooks Holifield in, A History of Pastoral Care in America: From Salvation to Self-Realization (Nashville: Abingdon, c. 1983). I was impressed when I read this book when it was first published. Re-reading it I remain convinced that it is one of the most illuminating treatises on American religious history. The book's thesis is contained in its subtitle: "from salvation to self-realization." In brief, "The story proceeds from the ideal of self-denial to one of self-love, from self-love to self-culture, from self-culture to self-mastery, from self-mastery to self-realization within a trustworthy culture, and finally to a later form of self-realization counterpoised against cultural mores and social institutions" (p. 12). That process began, of course, in Colonial America, when "Self meant self-centeredness," when "'Selfhood' was primarily a condition to be overcome, not a possibility to be realized. 'Is not SELF the great idol which the whole world of unsanctified men doth worship?' asked [Richard] Baxter. The goal of the Christian was therefore self-emptiness, self-trial, and self-denial--anything to conquer the 'infection of self'" (p. 58). Such antipathy to self-concern slowly slipped away during the First and Great Awakenings, which largely molded an emergent Evangelical Protestantism. Though vigorously contested, this shifting emphasis--from the character and concerns of God to the inner affec¬tions and aspirations and religious experience of men and women--meant that, by the end of the Colonial Era, "the lovable self was here to stay" (p. 99). Between the Revolutionary and Civil wars, Holifield argues, evangelical Protestants increasingly stressed a message of "balance, gentility, self-culture." To be a Christian, especially a minister of the gospel, was to be a gentlemen. That such was attainable was rooted in a growing confidence in the human willpower. This was especially evident in the preaching of Charles G. Finney, the leading light of the Second Great Awakening. To set one's will on attaining the "happiness" God intends for us, to love one's self in a healthy sense, became one of the primary means whereby one attained his end. Following the Civil War, Holifield says, clergymen embraced "the natural style." No longer interested in gentility, they stressed a "muscular Christianity" which celebrated military heroes and athletic prowess. A "cult of virility" celebrated the "vigorous life," built hundreds of YMCA centers, and encouraged believers to find ways tap in to "power" for living. "Self-mastery" became a goal to pursue. Strongly influencing such developments was the psychology of William James who thought actions shape ideas, habits shape character, and the will-to-believe shapes convictions. What works in one's own experience is what's true and good. Since liberal Protestants defined theology as an interpretation of religious experience, they welcom

Peerless

"A History of Pastoral Care in America" is peerless. Others such as Clebsch and Jaekle and McNeil have written broad histories of soul care, but none have tackled the challenge of a focused study of soul care and spiritual direction in American religious history. Until now. E. Brooks Holifield has penned the comprehensive guide that traces the trajectory of American pastoral care. Holifield is dead on when he notes that every pastor adopts wittingly or unwittingly some theory of pastoral counseling. Unfortunately, many either have no model, or follow models that are bereft of biblical and historical substance. Attention to Holifield's findings can assist post-modern pastors to sidestep this tendency. Holifield's greatest gift in this book is his ability to synthesize large tracks of material. In particular, his subtitle communicates his understanding of the historical path taken by American pastors: "from salvation to self-realization." In my opinion, this synthesis is both the key strength of the book and one possible weakness. Agreed, the noted shift has occurred--from a God-centered, sin-focused ministry to a humanity-centered, self-help ministry. That is not at issue. The question is whether the shift is as comprehensive as plotted. Perhaps this tension has always existed in pastoral care, not only in America. And, perhaps more than a few have avoided this pitfall, even in recent pastoral ministry. One problem is the need for careful definition. What makes pastoral ministry "self-realization" related? Aside from this possible overstatement and underdefinition, Hoifield's work is flawless and peerless. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spirtual Direction."