Offering an overview of the history and development of Congregationalism in the United States, Youngs chronicles the denomination from its origins in Europe through its colonial beginnings to the recent merger of many of its members with other groups to form the United Church of Christ. He carefully summarizes basic information about the church, provides original interpretations of particular episodes in the church's history, and offers new ideas about particular issues within the church. Demonstrating Congregationalism's close relationship to Puritanism, Youngs also shows how the Puritan way of seeing God, humanity, and salvation has continued to influence Americans and how the unique spiritual sensibility of the early Puritans endured throughout the colonial period and long afterwards. This student edition, ideal for classes in American Religion, Protestantism, Denominational History, and American social and cultural history, includes a chronology of significant events in the history of the church in the U.S., and concludes with a bibliographic essay intended as a guide for further reading in the history of Congregationalism.