Religion in American life [electronic resource] : a short history / Jon Butler, Grant Wacker, and Randall Balmer.

ISBN:

9780199909872

Title:

Author:

Butler, Jon, 1940-

Personal Author:

Butler, Jon, 1940-

Edition:

2nd ed.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 532 pages, [25] pages of plates) : illustrations

Contents:

Religion in colonial America / Jon Butler. Worlds old and new ; Religion and missions in New Spain and New France ; Religion and in England's first colonies ; The flowering of religious diversity ; African and American Indian religion ; Religion and American Revolution -- Religion in nineteenth-century America / Grant Wacker. Prophets for a new nation ; Awakeners of the heart ; Reformers and visionaries ; Restorers of ancient ways ; Sojourners at home ;m Warriors for God and religion ; Fashioners of immigrant faith ; Conservers of tradition ; Adventurers of the Spirit -- Religion in twentieth- and twenty-first-century America / Randall Balmer. A new century ; The age of militancy In God we trust ; Religion in the new frontier -- Religion in an age of upheaval ; Preachers, politicians, and prodigals ; Coming to terms with pluralism ; Religion in the new millennium.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Geographic Term:

United States -- Religion.

Added Author:

Wacker, Grant, 1945-

Balmer, Randall Herbert.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2011

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
200.973 23	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

"Quite ambitious, tracing religion in the United States from European colonization up to the 21st century.... The writing is strong throughout."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)"One can hardly do better than Religion in American Life.... A good read, especially for the uninitiated. The initiated might also read it for its felicity of narrative and the moments of illumination that fine scholars can inject even into stories we have all heard before. Read it."--Church HistoryThis new edition of Religion in American Life, written by three of the country's most eminent historians of religion, offers a superb overview that spans four centuries, illuminating the rich spiritual heritage central to nearly every event in our nation's history. Beginning with the state of religious affairs in both the Old and New Worlds on the eve of colonization and continuing through to the present, the book covers all the major American religious groups, from Protestants, Jews, and Catholics to Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, Buddhists, and New Age believers. Revised and updated, the book includes expanded treatment of religion during the Great Depression, of the religious influences on the civil rights movement, and of utopian groups in the 19th century, and it now covers the role of religion during the 2008 presidential election, observing how completely religion has entered American politics.

Author Notes

Jon Butler is Howard R. Lamar Professor of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies at Yale University. He is the author of Power, Authority, and the Origins of American Denominational Authority; The Huguenots in America: A Refugee People in New World Society; Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People; and Becoming America: The Revolution Before 1776, and, with Harry S. Stout, editor of Religion in American History: A Reader.Grant Wacker is Professor of Christian History at Duke Divinity School and Director of the Graduate Program in Religion at Duke University. He received his B.A. from Stanford University and Ph.D. from Harvard University. His publications include Augustus H. Strong and the Dilemma of Historical Consciousness and Heaven Below: Pentecostals and American Culture. From 1997 to 2002 was a senior editor of the quarterly journal Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. In 2008 he served as president of the American Society of Church History.Randall Balmer is Professor of American Religious History at Barnard College, Columbia University. He is the author of a dozen books, including A Perfect Babel of Confusion: Dutch Religion and English Culture in the Middle Colonies; Protestantism in America; and God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. His second book, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, now in its fourth edition, was made into an award-winning three-part documentary for PBS.

Reviews (2)

Choice Review

Butler (Yale Univ.), Wacker (Duke Univ.), and Balmer (Barnard College) have collaborated on a survey of the history of religion in the US. Each section (early America, 19th century, 20th century) reflects the special emphases of previously written books by these well-known scholars. The division of labor allows for a comprehensive purview incorporating the latest scholarship but results in an uneven treatment of subjects and unnecessary duplication of information. The book is excellent in showing the variety in religions: Native American, Afro-American, Roman Catholic, Judaic, Buddhist, Islamic, mainline Protestant, evangelical and fundamentalist, and Christian and non-Christian sects. The authors stress the significant roles of women and immigrants, but slight formal theology, the role for clergy and ecclesiastical authorities, and--in spite of the title--the impact on daily life of belonging to a religious community. Despite publication by a university press and frequent use of quotations, the book does not provide footnotes to the text; references are provided to sidebar quotes from major religious figures. Even though the authors assume, rather than provide, knowledge of basic Christian beliefs and the Reformation heritage, this book could serve as a well-written and provocative textbook. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General readers and undergraduates. J. W. Frost emeritus, Swarthmore College

Library Journal Review

Yet another history of religion in America? And with all the flaws of previous histories? Religion in this book essentially means Protestant Christianity, with a few side glances at Judaism, Catholicism, Native American religion, Islam, and Asian religions. America generally means the United States, except in the Colonial period, when a few references are made to New France in the north and New Spain in the south. In this short history by Butler (Religion in Colonial America), Grant Wacker (Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture), and Randall Balmer (Religion in 20th-Century America), the reader receives a large catalog of data and events that are difficult to place in any pattern of development or interpretation. The authors seem unable to provide an outline of trends or changes that supply a context for understanding this complex history. The classic work is still Sidney Ahlstrom's A Religious History of the American People; to set this story in true pluralistic context, Ahlstrom's book should be read alongside Diana L. Eck's recent and highly regarded A New Religious America. The reader would be better served by these two books than this new one. Not recommended.-James A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L., GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.