Colorado Springs: The Evangelical Vatican
A historian's new book, Jesus Springs: Evangelical Capitalism and the Fate of an American City, explores how Colorado Springs became a hub for evangelical organizations.
According to the historian, Colorado Springs is home to dozens of major international evangelical parachurch organizations, with many arriving between 1980 and 1995.
Jesus Springs "brings together conservative religion, conservative politics, laissez-faire economics and the role of the military."
The story begins between 1945 and 1955, and the book's author, Schultz, an assistant professor of American religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, initially planned to focus on the 1990s, a time marked by the arrival of Focus on the Family and the culture war over gay rights.
Author's summary: Colorado Springs' transformation into an evangelical hub.
- Dozens of major international evangelical parachurch organizations are based in Colorado Springs.
- The city's transformation began between 1945 and 1955.
- The book explores the intersection of conservative religion, politics, economics, and the military.