The Internet and Contemporary Evangelical Reception of The Pilgrim's Progress

December 2020

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Andy Draycott (2020) , The Internet and Contemporary Evangelical Reception of The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan Studies. A Journal of Reformation and Nonconformist Culture, 24, 2020, pp.93-113.

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From the Introduction:

'This essay explores the internet reception of The Pilgrim’s Progress among North American conservative Protestant or evangelical Christians some twenty years after Spargo’s initial suggestion that this is an area worth study. In doing so I seek to offer evidence that will help map whether this internet reception is leading to a narrowing of approach to a ‘classic’ work (to parallel social media’s even more recent echo chambers), or whether there is evidence of an opening up of The Pilgrim’s Progress to diverse groups in a process of fertile cross-communication.[vii] Given that Bunyan’s reception among American evangelicals gives rise to concern that it fuels fundamentalism of a politically apocalyptic character, a more data-driven analysis is worth offering, as well as a tentative counter narrative.[viii]'