宗教改革を起こしてプロテスタントの源流を作ったマルティン・ルターの時代から現在までの歴史をたどりながら、ルターをはじめジョン・カルヴァンやフリードリヒ・シュライアマハーなどが残した実績、メソジスト運動やペンテコステ運動などキリスト教から派生した重要な運動も取り上げ、世界的な発展を遂げるプロテスタントの全体像をつかみます。欧米にとどまらず、急速に勢力を伸ばしているアフリカ、中国、インド、ラテンアメリカでの発達に注目しているのが本書の特徴です。(cf. Martin Luther, #252; Calvinism, #499; The Reformation, #213; Anglicanism, #149; Methodism, #602; Pentecostalism, #255)
   

• Explores Protestant movements from their European origins in the early sixteenth century to the present day
• Integrates both non-Western and Western history to highlight the great worldwide diversity of Protestantism
• Considers the influence of American Protestants in recent world history and explains why that influence should not be exaggerated
• Includes contributions from well-known figures such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and F. D. E. Schleiermacher, as well as Karl Barth, Dora Yu, Samuel Ajayi Crowther, and Pandita Ramabai

 
Mark A. Noll presents a fresh and accessible history of Protestantism from the era of Martin Luther to the present day. Beginning with the founding of Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and Anabaptist churches in the sixteenth-century Reformation, he also considers the rise of other important Christian movements like Methodism and Pentecostalism. Focussing on worldwide developments, rather than just the familiar European and American histories, he considers the recent expansion of Protestant movements in Africa, China, India, and Latin America, emphasising the on-going and rapidly expanding story of Protestants worldwide. 

Noll examines the contributions from well-known figures including Martin Luther and John Calvin, along with many others, and explores why Protestant energies have flagged recently in the Western world yet expanded so dramatically elsewhere. Highlighting the key points of Protestant commonality including the message of Christian salvation, reliance on the Bible, and organization through personal initiative, he also explores the reasons for Protestantism's extraordinary diversity.