Themes in Religion and American Culture

Download Themes in Religion and American Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN 13 : 0807875821
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (78 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Themes in Religion and American Culture by : Philip Goff

Download or read book Themes in Religion and American Culture written by Philip Goff and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2005-10-12 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed to serve as an introduction to American religion, this volume is distinctive in its approach: instead of following a traditional narrative, the book is arranged thematically. Eleven chapters by top scholars present, in carefully organized and accessible fashion, topics and perspectives fundamental to the understanding of religion in America. Some of the chapters treat aspects of faith typical to most religious groups, such as theology, proselytization, supernaturalism, and cosmology. Others deal with race, ethnicity, gender, the state, economy, science, diversity, and regionalism--facets of American culture that often interact with religion. Each topical essay is structured chronologically, divided into sections on pre-colonial, colonial, revolutionary and early republican, antebellum, postbellum and late nineteenth-century, early twentieth-century, and modern America. One can study the extended history of a certain theme, or read "across" the book for a study of all the themes during a specific period in history. This book's new approach offers a rich analysis of the genuine complexity of American religious life. With a helpful glossary of basic religious terms, movements, people, and groups, this book will become an essential tool for students and teachers of religion. Contributors: Yvonne Chireau, Swarthmore College Amy DeRogatis, Michigan State University William Durbin, Washington Theological Union Tracy Fessenden, Arizona State University James German, State University of New York, Potsdam Philip Goff, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Paul Harvey, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Sue Marasco, Vanderbilt University Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, University of Chicago Divinity School Roberto Trevino, University of Texas, Arlington David Weaver-Zercher, Messiah College

Religion and American Culture

Download Religion and American Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1467451398
Total Pages : 446 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (674 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Religion and American Culture by : George M. Marsden

Download or read book Religion and American Culture written by George M. Marsden and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-06 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Americans still profess to be one of the most religious people in the industrialized world, many aspects of American culture have long been secular and materialistic. That is just one of the many paradoxes, contradictions, and surprises in the relationship between Christianity and American culture. In this book George Marsden, a leading historian of American Christianity and award-winning author, tells the story of that relationship in a concise and thought-provoking way. Surveying the history of religion and American culture from the days of the earliest European settlers right up through the elections of 2016, Marsden offers the kind of historically and religiously informed scholarship that has made him one of the nation’s most respected and decorated historians. Students in the classroom and history readers of all ages will benefit from engaging with the story Marsden tells.

One Nation Under God?

Download One Nation Under God? PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135207852
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (352 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis One Nation Under God? by : Marjorie Garber

Download or read book One Nation Under God? written by Marjorie Garber and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One Nation Under God? is a remarkable consideration of how religion manifests itself in America today.

The Democratization of American Christianity

Download The Democratization of American Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300159560
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (1 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Democratization of American Christianity by : Nathan O. Hatch

Download or read book The Democratization of American Christianity written by Nathan O. Hatch and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1991-01-23 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic "The so-called Second Great Awakening was the shaping epoch of American Protestantism, and this book is the most important study of it ever published."—James Turner, Journal of Interdisciplinary History Winner of the John Hope Franklin Publication Prize, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic book prize, and the Albert C. Outler Prize In this provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic, Nathan O. Hatch argues that during this period American Christianity was democratized and common people became powerful actors on the religious scene. Hatch examines five distinct traditions or mass movements that emerged early in the nineteenth century—the Christian movement, Methodism, the Baptist movement, the black churches, and the Mormons—showing how all offered compelling visions of individual potential and collective aspiration to the unschooled and unsophisticated.

The Earth Is God's

Download The Earth Is God's PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1725211424
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (252 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Earth Is God's by : William Dyrness

Download or read book The Earth Is God's written by William Dyrness and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2004-08-19 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Noting that Christians in the 20th century have not been able to make up their minds whether God and our corporate lives have anything to do with each other, Dyrness explores the century's theological trends. Citing the impact of contemporary hermeneutics, Dyrness shows how the Bible still functions as a master narrative wherein Christians can find themselves. Dyrness addresses various aspects of contemporary culture, constructing a theology of embodiment that connects culture and worship in concrete ways. For all those concerned with issues of religion and culture, particularly of the raging Culture Wars, 'The Earth is God's' offers an informed Evangelical view that is at once balanced and hopeful.

Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape

Download Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN 13 : 0807899666
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (78 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape by : Joel W. Martin

Download or read book Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape written by Joel W. Martin and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2010-10-11 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this interdisciplinary collection of essays, Joel W. Martin and Mark A. Nicholas gather emerging and leading voices in the study of Native American religion to reconsider the complex and often misunderstood history of Native peoples' engagement with Christianity and with Euro-American missionaries. Surveying mission encounters from contact through the mid-nineteenth century, the volume alters and enriches our understanding of both American Christianity and indigenous religion. The essays here explore a variety of postcontact identities, including indigenous Christians, "mission friendly" non-Christians, and ex-Christians, thereby exploring the shifting world of Native-white cultural and religious exchange. Rather than questioning the authenticity of Native Christian experiences, these scholars reveal how indigenous peoples negotiated change with regard to missions, missionaries, and Christianity. This collection challenges the pervasive stereotype of Native Americans as culturally static and ill-equipped to navigate the roiling currents associated with colonialism and missionization. The contributors are Emma Anderson, Joanna Brooks, Steven W. Hackel, Tracy Neal Leavelle, Daniel Mandell, Joel W. Martin, Michael D. McNally, Mark A. Nicholas, Michelene Pesantubbee, David J. Silverman, Laura M. Stevens, Rachel Wheeler, Douglas L. Winiarski, and Hilary E. Wyss.

Material Christianity

Download Material Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780300074994
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (749 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Material Christianity by : Colleen McDannell

Download or read book Material Christianity written by Colleen McDannell and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What can the religious objects used by nineteenth- and twentieth-century Americans tell us about American Christianity? What is the relationship between the beliefs of the faithful and the landscapes they build? This lavishly illustrated book investigates the history and meaning of Christian material culture in America over the last 150 years. Drawing on a rich array of historical sources and on in-depth interviews with Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons, Colleen McDannell examines the relationship between religion and mass consumption. She describes examples of nineteenth-century religious practice: Victorians burying their dead in cultivated cemetery parks; Protestants producing and displaying elaborate family Bibles; Catholics writing for special water from Lourdes reputed to have miraculous powers. And she looks at today's Christians: Mormons wearing sacred underclothing as a reminder of their religious promises, Catholics debating the design of tasteful churches, and Protestants manufacturing, marketing, and using a vast array of prints, clothing, figurines, jewelry, and toys that some label "Jesus junk" but that others see as a witness to their faith. McDannell claims that previous studies of American Christianity have overemphasized the written, cognitive, and ethical dimensions of religion, presenting faith as a disembodied system of beliefs. She shifts attention from the church and the theological seminary to the workplace, home, cemetery, and Sunday school, highlighting a different Christianity--one in which average Christians experience the divine, the nature of death, the power of healing, and the meaning of community through interacting with a created world of devotional images, environments, and objects.

Religion and American Culture

Download Religion and American Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Psychology Press
ISBN 13 : 9780415942737
Total Pages : 574 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (427 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Religion and American Culture by : David G. Hackett

Download or read book Religion and American Culture written by David G. Hackett and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Subtracting Christianity

Download Subtracting Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781495143373
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (433 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Subtracting Christianity by : Joseph Sobran

Download or read book Subtracting Christianity written by Joseph Sobran and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Bible in American Life

Download The Bible in American Life PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190468947
Total Pages : 455 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (94 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Bible in American Life by : Philip Goff

Download or read book The Bible in American Life written by Philip Goff and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-01 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a paradox in American Christianity. According to Gallup, nearly eight in ten Americans regard the Bible as either the literal word of God or inspired by God. At the same time, surveys have revealed gaps in these same Americans' biblical literacy. These discrepancies reveal the complex relationship between American Christians and Holy Writ, a subject that is widely acknowledged but rarely investigated. The Bible in American Life is a sustained, collaborative reflection on the ways Americans use the Bible in their personal lives. It also considers how other influences, including religious communities and the Internet, shape individuals' comprehension of scripture. Employing both quantitative methods (the General Social Survey and the National Congregations Study) and qualitative research (historical studies for context), The Bible in American Life provides an unprecedented perspective on the Bible's role outside of worship, in the lived religion of a broad cross-section of Americans both now and in the past. The Bible has been central to Christian practice, and has functioned as a cultural touchstone From the broadest scale imaginable, national survey data about all Americans, down to the smallest details, such as the portrayal of Noah and his ark in children's Bibles, this book offers insight and illumination from scholars across the intellectual spectrum. It will be useful and informative for scholars seeking to understand changes in American Christianity as well as clergy seeking more effective ways to preach and teach about scripture in a changing environment.

How the West Really Lost God

Download How the West Really Lost God PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Templeton Foundation Press
ISBN 13 : 1599474298
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (994 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis How the West Really Lost God by : Mary Eberstadt

Download or read book How the West Really Lost God written by Mary Eberstadt and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2013-04-01 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this magisterial work, leading cultural critic Mary Eberstadt delivers a powerful new theory about the decline of religion in the Western world. The conventional wisdom is that the West first experienced religious decline, followed by the decline of the family. Eberstadt turns this standard account on its head. Marshalling an impressive array of research, from fascinating historical data on family decline in pre-Revolutionary France to contemporary popular culture both in the United States and Europe, Eberstadt shows that the reverse has also been true: the undermining of the family has further undermined Christianity itself. Drawing on sociology, history, demography, theology, literature, and many other sources, Eberstadt shows that family decline and religious decline have gone hand in hand in the Western world in a way that has not been understood before—that they are, as she puts it in a striking new image summarizing the book’s thesis, “the double helix of society, each dependent on the strength of the other for successful reproduction.” In sobering final chapters, Eberstadt then lays out the enormous ramifications of the mutual demise of family and faith in the West. While it is fashionable in some circles to applaud the decline both of religion and the nuclear family, there are, as Eberstadt reveals, enormous social, economic, civic, and other costs attendant on both declines. Her conclusion considers this tantalizing question: whether the economic and demographic crisis now roiling Europe and spreading to America will have the inadvertent result of reviving the family as the most viable alternative to the failed welfare state—fallout that could also lay the groundwork for a religious revival as well. How the West Really Lost God is both a startlingly original account of how secularization happens and a sweeping brief about why everyone should care. A book written for agnostics as well as believers, atheists as well as “none of the above,” it will permanently change the way every reader understands the two institutions that have hitherto undergirded Western civilization as we know it—family and faith—and the real nature of the relationship between those two pillars of history.

American Christianity

Download American Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 0292758618
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (927 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis American Christianity by : Stephen Cox

Download or read book American Christianity written by Stephen Cox and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This wide-ranging study examines the ever-evolving forms of Christianity in the US, and why this constant reinvention is a vital part of American faith. Christianity takes an astonishing variety of forms in America: from traditional chapels to modern megachurches, from evangelical fellowships to social-action groups, and from Pentecostal faith to apocalyptic movements. Stephen Cox argues that radical and unpredictable change is one of the few dependable features of Christianity in America. It is in a necessary and ongoing state of revolution and has been throughout our history. Cox explores how both Catholic and Protestant churches have evolved in ways that would make them seem alien to their past adherents. He traces the rise of uniquely American movements, from the Mormons to the Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and brings to life the vivid personalities—Aimee Semple McPherson, Billy Sunday, and many others—who have taken the gospel to the masses. Cox also sheds new light on such issues as American Christians’ constantly changing political involvements, their controversial revisions in the style and substance of worship, and their chronic expectation that God is about to intervene conclusively in human life. Asserting that “a church that doesn’t promise new beginnings can never prosper in America,” Cox demonstrates that American Christianity must be seen not as a sociological phenomenon but as the ever-changing story of individual seekers.

Religion and Popular Culture in America

Download Religion and Popular Culture in America PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 9780520246898
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (468 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Religion and Popular Culture in America by : Bruce David Forbes

Download or read book Religion and Popular Culture in America written by Bruce David Forbes and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2005-11-17 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION: “A solid introduction to the dialogue between the disciplines of cultural studies and religion…. A substantive foundation for subsequent exploration.”—Religious Studies Review “A splendid collection of lively essays by fourteen scholars dealing with religion and popular culture on the contemporary American scene.”—Choice

Gospel Without Borders

Download Gospel Without Borders PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1498209645
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (982 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Gospel Without Borders by : Jim Rotholz

Download or read book Gospel Without Borders written by Jim Rotholz and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2015-03-04 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To what degree does culture facilitate or distort the Christian faith, the gospel of Jesus, and the life of the church? In America, the distortion is enormous. Gospel Without Borders carefully examines the complex intersection of culture and faith in America, providing insights that allow for better understanding and a more genuine experience of biblical and historic Christianity. Gospel Without Borders analyzes the formative and interactive roles that human nature and cultural history play in contemporary expressions of Christianity in America. It outlines their profound but little appreciated influence upon the shape and scope of Christian faith within society-at-large, the church, and the lives of individuals. The study illuminates the dimensions of a largely unheralded gospel message characterized by unimpeded faith that fully accords with the kingdom Jesus stridently proclaimed. It outlines the dimensions of faith freed from the disappointing forms of "culturalized" Christianity that always prove insufficient on a personal level and woefully inadequate to the demands of contemporary life within our globalizing world. Today's world can only be effectively impacted through a "gospel without borders"--a compelling gospel most Americans have yet to hear, and too many Christians--of every cultural and denominational background--have yet to fully embrace.

One Nation Under God

Download One Nation Under God PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0465040640
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis One Nation Under God by : Kevin M. Kruse

Download or read book One Nation Under God written by Kevin M. Kruse and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2015-04-14 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The provocative and authoritative history of the origins of Christian America in the New Deal era We're often told that the United States is, was, and always has been a Christian nation. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse reveals that the belief that America is fundamentally and formally Christian originated in the 1930s. To fight the "slavery" of FDR's New Deal, businessmen enlisted religious activists in a campaign for "freedom under God" that culminated in the election of their ally Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. The new president revolutionized the role of religion in American politics. He inaugurated new traditions like the National Prayer Breakfast, as Congress added the phrase "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance and made "In God We Trust" the country's first official motto. Church membership soon soared to an all-time high of 69 percent. Americans across the religious and political spectrum agreed that their country was "one nation under God." Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Under God reveals how an unholy alliance of money, religion, and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics to this day.

Secular Faith

Download Secular Faith PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022627523X
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (262 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Secular Faith by : Mark A. Smith

Download or read book Secular Faith written by Mark A. Smith and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Pope Francis recently answered “Who am I to judge?” when asked about homosexuality, he ushered in a new era for the Catholic church. A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable for a pope to express tolerance for homosexuality. Yet shifts of this kind are actually common in the history of Christian groups. Within the United States, Christian leaders have regularly revised their teachings to match the beliefs and opinions gaining support among their members and larger society. Mark A. Smith provocatively argues that religion is not nearly the unchanging conservative influence in American politics that we have come to think it is. In fact, in the long run, religion is best understood as responding to changing political and cultural values rather than shaping them. Smith makes his case by charting five contentious issues in America’s history: slavery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, and women’s rights. For each, he shows how the political views of even the most conservative Christians evolved in the same direction as the rest of society—perhaps not as swiftly, but always on the same arc. During periods of cultural transition, Christian leaders do resist prevailing values and behaviors, but those same leaders inevitably acquiesce—often by reinterpreting the Bible—if their positions become no longer tenable. Secular ideas and influences thereby shape the ways Christians read and interpret their scriptures. So powerful are the cultural and societal norms surrounding us that Christians in America today hold more in common morally and politically with their atheist neighbors than with the Christians of earlier centuries. In fact, the strongest predictors of people’s moral beliefs are not their religious commitments or lack thereof but rather when and where they were born. A thoroughly researched and ultimately hopeful book on the prospects for political harmony, Secular Faith demonstrates how, over the long run, boundaries of secular and religious cultures converge.

From Here to Maturity

Download From Here to Maturity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN 13 : 146744202X
Total Pages : 189 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (674 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis From Here to Maturity by : Thomas E. Bergler

Download or read book From Here to Maturity written by Thomas E. Bergler and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2014-11-27 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Expert guidance on how to grow up in Christ This book is a follow-up to Thomas Bergler’s acclaimed work The Juvenilization of American Christianity, which documents how church youth ministries over the past several decades have contributed to a process of adolescent spiritual traits becoming accepted and even celebrated by Christians of all ages. This “juvenilization” in the church is a real problem that must be addressed, says Bergler, and in his new book he addresses it head-on. Bergler’s From Here to Maturity is an accessible guide for helping both individuals and whole faith communities to grow spiritually. Bergler claims that spiritual maturity -- defined as “basic competence in the Christian life” -- is both desirable and attainable, and he effectively presents a biblical theology of spiritual maturity, identifying its traits from pertinent New Testament passages. Adapting Dallas Willard’s model of spiritual formation and applying it to congregational life, Bergler offers a wealth of practical, research-based guidance as to how Christian leaders can effectively foster spiritual maturity in their congregations. He also identifies six key faith-sustaining factors and provides a system for evaluating a church’s state of spiritual maturity and steps for improving it. Ecumenically friendly, From Here to Maturity will be useful to individuals and leaders from many different churches and theological traditions.