David Edwin Harrell Jr. (February 22, 1930 – March 15, 2021) was an American historian best known for his scholarship of

religion in the United States Christianity is the most widely professed religion in the United States, with Protestantism being its largest branch, although the country is believed to be "rapidly secularizing".

. Harrell was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

to parents David Edwin (a physician) and Mildred Lee Harrell (a homemaker). He attended David Lipscomb College as an undergraduate, and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

as a graduate student. He received a Ph.D. in 1962. Harrell was a professor at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, where he served as the Breeden Eminent Scholar of Southern History. He retired in 2006. He wrote biographies of

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, ordained in both the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Pentecostal Holin ...

Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...

, and Homer Hailey, as well as other works about

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and the

Charismatic movement The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spirit ...

. In 2006, he published ''Unto a Good Land: A History of the American People'', a college textbook that discusses the effects of religion in the history of the United States. Harrell died on March 15, 2021.

References

1930 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American historians Vanderbilt University alumni Lipscomb University alumni Auburn University faculty People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Auburn, Alabama Writers from Jacksonville, Florida 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Historians from Tennessee Historians from Alabama Historians from Florida American textbook writers American historians of religion American members of the Churches of Christ {{US-historian-stub