History of religion Books

Book SynopsisUnearths the deeper lineage of anti-war pacifist activists and thinkers from the early twentieth century who developed nonviolence into a revolutionary force for Black liberation. In telling this story, Anthony Siracusa challenges the idea that nonviolent freedom practices faded with the rise of the Black Power movement.

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Book SynopsisMuslims have been shaping the Americas and the Caribbean for more than five hundred years, yet this interplay is frequently overlooked or misconstrued. Brimming with revelations that synthesize area and ethnic studies, Crescent over Another Horizon presents a portrait of Islam’s unity as it evolved through plural formulations of identity, power, and belonging. Offering a Latino American perspective on a wider Islamic world, the editors overturn the conventional perception of Muslim communities in the New World, arguing that their characterization as “minorities” obscures the interplay of ethnicity and religion that continues to foster transnational ties.Bringing together studies of Iberian colonists, enslaved Africans, indentured South Asians, migrant Arabs, and Latino and Latin American converts, the volume captures the power-laden processes at work in religious conversion or resistance. Throughout each analysis—spanning times of inquisition, cTrade ReviewCrescent Over Another Horizon deftly traces the intricate connections between Muslims and Islamic institutions in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Latina/o United States...this volume is an important and timely contribution to the study of religion in the Americas, relevant to both specialists and all scholars interested in the mutual constitution and contingency of religion, ethnicity, and identity. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Crescent Over Another Horizon counteracts the tendency to locate Islam in the othered spaces of a nebulously constructed 'East'...Although the book operates across multiple scales and temporalities, its constituent parts mostly succeed in conveying Islam's dynamism in the regions under study. * H-Net Reviews *Crescent Over Another Horizon is a compelling and timely text. A critical resource for scholars and the general public alike, it not only challenges the exclusion of the Americas and Caribbean from Islamic scholarship but also demonstrates that understanding the historical and contemporary complexity of the Americas and Caribbean must include Islam. Both a resource and a provocation, it is a text that will undoubtedly set the standard for research to come. * Reading Religion *[A] welcome addition to the growing but still relatively sparse literature on Muslims in the Americas...should be on the bookshelf of any reader wanting to learn more about the activities and histories of Muslims...this collection will inspire further study of Islam's half-millenium presence in the New World. * New West Indian Guide *[Crescent over Another Horizon questions] the supposed dichotomies between Islam and an idea of the West, rhetorically constructed in opposition to an idea of the East and Islam...a new geography is sought throughout the volume in which place does not frame who individuals are supposed to be but is the space from which one relates to the world. * Latin American Research Review *Table of Contents Acknowledgments Latino America in the Umma/the Umma in Latino America (John Tofik Karam, María del Mar Logroño Narbona, and Paulo G. Pinto) Part I: Reconsidering History Chapter One. "De los Prohibidos": Muslims and Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America (Karoline P. Cook) Chapter Two. African Rebellion and Refuge on the Edge of Empire (John Tofik Karam) Chapter Three. Ethnic and Religious Identification among Muslim East Indians in Suriname (1898–1954) (Ellen Bal and Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff) Part II. Contemporary Cartographies Chapter Four. Institutionalizing Islam in Argentina: Comparing Community and Identity Configurations (Silvia Montenegro) Chapter Five. Conversion, Revivalism, and Tradition: The Religious Dynamics of Muslim Communities in Brazil (Paulo G. Pinto) Chapter Six. Guests of Islam: Conversion and the Institutionalization of Islam in Mexico (Camila Pastor de Maria y Campos) Chapter Seven. Cubans Searching for a New Faith in a New Context (Luis Mesa Delmonte) Chapter Eight. Muslims in Martinique (Liliane Kuczynski) Chapter Nine. Forming Islamic Religious Identity among Trinidadians in the Age of Social Networks (Halima-Sacadia Kassim) Part III. Islam Latina/o Chapter Ten. Dis-covering a Historical Consciousness: The Creation of a US Latina/o Muslim Identity (Hjamil A. Martínez-Vázquez) Chapter Eleven. Mapping Muslim Communities in "Hispanicized" South Florida (Mirsad Krijestorac) Chapter Twelve. Double-Edged Marginality and Agency: Latina Conversion to Islam (Yesenia King and Michael P. Perez) Conclusion List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisSince its establishment in the late 1970s, Israel's Islamic Movement has grown from a small religious revivalist organization focused on strengthening the faith of Muslim residents to a countrywide sociopolitical movement with representation in the Israeli legislature. But how did it get here? How does it differ from other Islamic movements in the region? And why does its membership continue to grow? Tilde Rosmer examines these issues in The Islamic Movement in Israel as she tells the story of the movement, its identity, and its activities. Using interviews with movement leaders and activists, their documents, and media reports from Israel and beyond, she traces the movement's history from its early days to its 1996 split over the issue of its relationship to the state. She then explores how the two factions have functioned since, revealing that while leaders of the two branches have pursued different goals, they remain connected and dedicated to providing needed social, education, andTable of ContentsNote on Translation and Transliteration Acknowledgments Glossary Introduction: Palestinian Islamists in the Jewish State Chapter 1. The Emergence of the Islamic Movement in Israel Chapter 2. The Split of the Islamic Movement in Israel: Minority Dilemmas in the Jewish State Chapter 3. A Trifecta of Goals: Religious Sites, Land, and People Chapter 4. Resisting “Israelization” in Israel Chapter 5. Activists and Relations with Other Palestinian Citizens Chapter 6. New Watersheds: The Joint List and a Ban Conclusion: Islamist Palestinian Nationalists Made in Israel Appendix: Student Survey List of Sources Index

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Book SynopsisThe complete story of Jewish Harlem and its significance in American Jewish historyNew York Times columnist David W. Dunlap wrote a decade ago that on the map of the Jewish Diaspora, Harlem Is Atlantis. . . . A vibrant hub of industry, artistry and wealth is all but forgotten. It is as if Jewish Harlem sank 70 years ago beneath waves of memory beyond recall. During World War I, Harlem was the home of the second largest Jewish community in America. But in the 1920s Jewish residents began to scatter to other parts of Manhattan, to the outer boroughs, and to other cities. Now nearly a century later, Jews are returning uptown to a gentrified Harlem. The Jews of Harlem follows Jews into, out of, and back into this renowned metropolitan neighborhood over the course of a century and a half. It analyzes the complex set of forces that brought several generations of central European, East European, and Sephardic Jews to settle there. It explains the dynamics that led Jews to exit this part of GoTrade Review"This well-written volume makes clear that the Harlem Jewish community significantly influenced American Jewry as a whole . . . This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of American Judaism." * Publishers Weekly *"What stays with you long after you have finished [The Jews of Harlem] is Gurock's steadfast devotion to his subject." * Jewish Review of Books *"The Jews of Harlem skillfully traces Jewish Harlem from its tentative beginnings to the years when Jewish life there rivaled that of the Lower East Side, and from the massive migration elsewhere to the community's even more tentative reemergence today. It's an important piece of American Jewish history." * Segula Magazine *"Nearly forty years after the publication of his first monograph,When Harlem Was Jewish, 18701930(1979), Jeffrey S. Gurock has returned to Harlem, revisiting the story of the Jewish communitys beginnings in the 1870s and 1880s, its heyday in the early twentieth century, and its rapid decline after World War I, and adding something that seemed unlikely in the 1970s: the return of Jews to the neighborhood." * The American Historical Review *"Athoughtful and comprehensive history of Jewish Harlem." * American Jewish Archives Journal *"The studies by Gurock are very valuable not only for anyone interested in American Jewish history, but they also make a significant contribution to other fields. Scholars and general readership who are interested in the history of New York, as well as urban history in general and African American history, will find Gurock's volume an indispensable addition to those fields." * American History *"The Jews of Harlem is a masterful work of scholarship that further concretizes Jeffrey Gurock's position as a preeminent academic practitioner. In parallel, it offers the reader a unique perspective from which to witness transitions in American Judaism, as well as the way one of its prime chroniclers interfaces with the story he tells." * Journal of Religion *"Gurock traces anew the history of Jewish Harlem, a subject he first explored in When Harlem Was Jewish, 1870-1930. While the earlier work told the story of an important, but largely forgotten, community, this well-written, comprehensive study examines a neighborhood whose history "is not over, but rather a work in progress"... this book is not merely a localized case study, but one that has great significance for Jewish American as a whole." * Journal of American Ethnic History *"Jeffrey Gurock is the historian of Jewish Harlem, but he is also its anthropologist and sociologist. He chronicles the fortunes of this storied neighborhood treasured by blacks and Jews and now home to both groups with the fresh-eyed relish of an explorer discovering a new land yet with the authority of an old-timer intimately familiar with every block and alley. He has populated his fascinating tale of Jewish Harlem's development, decline, and resurgence not just with events and institutions but with flesh and blood people who bring the community to vivid life." -- Joseph Berger,author of The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidim and Their Battles with America"Jeffrey Gurock offers an evocative account of the evolution of Jewish Harlem. This book is a 'must read' for anyone interested in race, religion, and culture in New York's ever-changing neighborhood." -- Beth S. Wenger,Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania"No one knows the history of the Jews in Harlem as well as Jeffrey S. Gurock, and this latest book recounts in wonderful detail not only their move uptown from the Lower East Side early in the 20th century, but their important role in the revival of the neighborhood in the 21st century. The Jews of Harlem is engagingly written and persuasively argued, and it will soon be recognized as a classic account of community change in a contested environment." -- Kenneth T. Jackson,Barzun Professor of History, Columbia University""Jeffrey Gurock has done it again! His well-crafted narrative presents a convincing history of Parkchesters transition from a whites-only melting pot to a complex and racially diverse alternative to suburbia. Gurock raises significant questions that are persuasively answered by his solid research and clear-eyed analysis. His chapters throb with real life tensions and controversies, and finally with lessons about how reason and comity ultimately can prevail over intolerance. " -- Thomas Kessner,The Graduate Center, City University of New York

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Book Synopsis**FINALIST, 2022 PROSE Award in Theology & Religious Studies**An innovative exploration of religion''s influence on communication networksWhen Samuel Morse sent the words what hath God wrought from the US Supreme Court to Baltimore in mere minutes, it was the first public demonstration of words travelling faster than human beings and farther than a line of sight in the US. This strange confluence of media, religion, technology, and US nationhood lies at the foundation of global networks.The advent of a telegraph cable crossing the Atlantic Ocean was viewed much the way the internet is today, to herald a coming world-wide unification. President Buchanan declared that the Atlantic Telegraph would be an instrument destined by divine providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world through which the nations of Christendom [would] spontaneously unite. Evangelical Protestantism embraced the new technology as indicatTrade ReviewWhen the Medium Was the Mission excavates the entire assemblage surrounding the first transatlantic undersea cable, typically thought of as marking the birth of network culture in 1858. Rather than build on the conventional definition of a network — which favors the technological structure connecting nodes — Supp-Montgomerie begins with the premise that networks have always been 'first and foremost imaginaries' or enactments of 'particular forms of social and material life.' This framing makes clear that whatever we currently believe about the inherent affordances of networks is in fact what our network environment allows us to believe. * LA Review of Books *As refreshingly original as it is persuasive, Supp-Montgomerie’s media history traces the entwined trajectories of religious affect and network-oriented thinking as they emerged in reference to American telegraphy. Her stories of fervid missionaries, Bible communists, and Protestant utopians—as of failed connections and togetherness defeated—should resonate for readers today who are steeped in Silicon Valley evangelism. -- Lisa Gitelman, author of Paper Knowledge: Toward a Media History of DocumentsSupp-Montgomerie models how to integrate the study of human and non-human actors in American religious history, offering us a fascinating account of infrastructure’s work to animate religious life and of the politics such religious infrastructure enabled. -- Judith Weisenfeld, Agate Brown and George L. Collord Professor of Religion, Princeton UniversityNets consist mostly of holes: that’s what makes them nets. This insight drives Jenna Supp-Montgomerie’s revisionist genealogy of our network-intoxicated present. With a rich social-theoretical imagination and generous interpretive brush, she shows how technological dreamers conjure tales of rapture and sizzle from facts of rupture and fizzle. Networks, like Penelope’s loom, unravel as they ravel. This insight is both foundational for media history and a moral truth of the first order. -- John Durham Peters, Yale UniversityTheoretically sophisticated and written in an engaging style,When the Medium Was the Mission describes a heady world of invisible affects, circulating discourses, and utopian fantasies, quickened by (though not quite reliant on) the cables corroding at the bottom of an ocean. * American Religion *Interdisciplinarity is one of Supp-Montgomerie’s particular strengths in this book. When the Medium Was the Mission cleverly blends history (including impressive archival finds) and theory from several fields, such as communication studies, media studies, history, and religious studies. * Media Industries *

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Book SynopsisUncovers the often overlooked participation of African Americans and Native Americans in early Protestant churchesPhillis Wheatley was stolen from her family in Senegambia, and, in 1761, slave traders transported her to Boston, Massachusetts, to be sold. She was purchased by the Wheatley family who treated Phillis far better than most eighteenth-century slaves could hope, and she received a thorough education while still, of course, longing for her freedom. After four years, Wheatley began writing religious poetry. She was baptized and became a member of a predominantly white Congregational church in Boston. More than ten years after her enslavement began, some of her poetry was published in London, England, as a book titled Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. This book is evidence that her experience of enslavement was exceptional. Wheatley remains the most famous black Christian of the colonial era. Though her experiences and accomplishments wTrade ReviewDividing the Faith is a remarkable recovery of the presence of African Americans and Native people in the predominantly white churches of early New England and the mid-Atlantic. Richard Boles's imaginative mining of the sources reveals that interracial religious activity endured into the early nineteenth century and that there was nothing inevitable about the division of American churches along the color line. -- Christine Leigh Heyrman, University of DelawareIn this timely and richly textured book, Richard Boles adds critical nuance to the history of race and religion in the United States. His account is strongly worth reading, not just for all we learn about the infinite complexities of race relations in Indian, black, and white churches, but for the hundreds of individual stories, people of color exercising spiritual agency and, without doubt, moral courage. -- Margaret Bendroth, author of The Last Puritans: Mainline Protestants and the Power of the Past“The most segregated time in America is 11 a.m. on Sunday,” or so the saying goes. That wasn’t always the case. In fact, as Richard Boles shows, surprising numbers of Blacks and Indians worshiped in northern churches from the colonial period through the 1850s, until driven away by racism and the desire for self-determination. Boles’s original and timely work reveals the tangled interplay of race and religion in early American history. -- Jon Sensbach, author of Rebecca’s Revival: Creating Black Christianity in the Atlantic WorldA comparative analysis of African American and Native American peoples’ participation in white churches, Boles’s study encourages us to reconsider the conflicting politics of history and memory; specifically, how the social and cultural views of subsequent generations of Americans have distorted the assorted nature of the past. * American Religion *There is no question that Boles’s remarkable spadework has laid the groundwork for further inquiry. One can only hope that he and others will continue to pursue these questions, which bear so directly on our understanding of the Christian past and present. * Lutheran Quarterly *

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2021 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish StudiesHonorable Mention, 2021 Saul Viener Book Prize, given by the American Jewish Historical SocietyReveals nostalgia as a new way of maintaining Jewish continuityIn 2007, the Museum at Eldridge Street opened at the site of a restored nineteenth-century synagogue originally built by some of the first Eastern European Jewish immigrants in New York City. Visitors to the museum are invited to stand along indentations on the floor where footprints of congregants past have worn down the soft pinewood. Here, many feel a palpable connection to the history surrounding them.Beyond the Synagogue argues that nostalgic activities such as visiting the Museum at Eldridge Street or eating traditional Jewish foods should be understood as American Jewish religious practices. In making the case that these practices are not just cultural, but are actually religious, RTrade ReviewGross seeks to expand how we understand the practice of American Judaism to include Jewish nostalgia, and argues that any notions of American Jewish religiosity being in ‘decline’ are false; it’s rather how we understand American Judaism that needs to be expanded. * Alma Magazine *Gross demonstrates how nostalgia does much of the same work as religion and can therefore be properly understood as religious itself ... Gross compellingly points to a Jewish life that seems to have been flourishing already for members of at least four generations of American Jews. She gives her readers tools to ask a vital question: where to look to discover robust Jewish life as it is occurring all around us. * Moment Magazine *Gross’ assessment of the way institutional Judaism dismisses activities that aren’t officially Jewish is well-argued and comprehensive ... and her book challenges prevailing orthodoxies of American Jewish life with respect and purpose. * Jewish Exponent *A stunning and timely volume on heritage production and material nostalgia that is sure to be an instant classic on American Jewishness. This is groundbreaking scholarship at multiple levels of analysis: for its compelling reconfigurations of American Jewish religious practice—and for its elegant expansion of American religion’s affective parameters. A must read! -- Sally M. Promey, editor of Sensational Religion: Sensory Cultures in Material PracticeBrilliant and innovative, Beyond the Synagogue is a game changer. Each chapter draws us in, deepening our understanding of how objects and places participate in nostalgia. Gross’s book is destined to change the way we think about how and where Jews ‘do’ religion. -- Laura Arnold Leibman, author of The Art of the Jewish FamilyThis studious and careful book is brave and beautiful in equal measure. I defy anyone who reads it to be left unmoved by the power of what Gross records. Beyond the Synagogue proves definitively that studying religion requires thinking about what people feel in the present as they think again about pasts they can't stop retelling. -- Kathryn Lofton, author of Consuming ReligionIn this vivid and convincing work, Rachel Gross creatively expands what counts as religious practice. Museum spaces, deli menus, genealogical enterprises, and children’s toys—Gross explores them all as revealing facets of American Jewish memory, the materials of both nostalgia and ongoing religious expression. She powerfully evokes the longing for remembrance, for a palpable reconnection with the past, contained within seemingly ordinary objects and activities. -- Leigh E. Schmidt, Washington University in St. LouisBeyond the Synagogue breaks important methodological ground in the study of American Jewish religion, especially by drawing key theoretical insights from the field of American religion. * American Religion *The freshness of Gross's argument… and the liveliness of her writing, is certain to attract both scholars and general readers with an interest in secular Judaism and American Jewish culture. * Contemporary Jewry *

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Book SynopsisA new history of Buddhism that highlights the insights and experiences of women from diverse communities and traditions around the worldBuddhist traditions have developed over a period of twenty-five centuries in Asia, and recent decades have seen an unprecedented spread of Buddhism globally. From India to Japan, Sri Lanka to Russia, Buddhist traditions around the world have their own rich and diverse histories, cultures, religious lives, and roles for women.Wherever Buddhism has taken root, it has interacted with indigenous cultures and existing religious traditions. These traditions have inevitably influenced the ways in which Buddhist ideas and practices have been understood and adapted. Tracing the branches and fruits of these culturally specific transmissions and adaptations is as challenging as it is fascinating.Women in Buddhist Traditions chronicles pivotal moments in the story of Buddhist women, from the beginning of Buddhist history until toTrade ReviewThe Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo, the founder and a prominent leader of Sakyadhita—the only international organization for Buddhist women—and a major force of the movement for the restoration of the full ordination lineage for nuns in traditions where it had lapsed— has done more than anyone in the contemporary world to advance the role of women in Buddhism. In this volume she discusses the role that women play in that religious tradition, providing illuminating historical and doctrinal context, careful attention to the cultural and doctrinal variety within the Buddhist world and the diversity of experience of Buddhist women, and an insider’s understanding of the contemporary context of globalized Buddhism in which women are taking an increasing leadership role. Required reading for anyone interested in women in Buddhism. -- Jay Garfield, author of Engaging Buddhism: Why it Matters to PhilosophyWomen in Buddhist Traditions is a clear, substantiated, and nuanced account of the historical developments of women’s activities and contributions to the tradition. It lays a carefully articulated and highly-readable foundation and contextualization of the earliest activities relevant to women across vast geographical and cultural contexts. The significance of the volume is enhanced by contextualizing women’s concerns with Buddhist ethics. This informative volume is a deep resource for those wanting to understand the dynamics and issues Buddhist women navigate in cross-cultural perspective. It is perfect for classroom use, whether at undergraduate or graduate level. -- Paula K. R. Arai, author of Women Living Zen, Brining Zen Home, and Painting EnlightenmentSweeping in its historical and geographical breadth, presenting the essential primary texts and latest research, and beautifully written in clear and accessible prose, this book is destined to become the standard introduction to the topic of women in Buddhism. -- José Ignacio Cabezón, President, American Academy of ReligionThis is a wonderful book, by one of the premier scholars of women in Buddhism. It presents a comprehensive overview of the history of women’s contributions to Buddhist traditions in a clearly written and authoritative style, along with a nuanced and thought-provoking discussion of contemporary issues. A must read for anyone interested in women’s religious lives. -- John Powers, Deakin universityA sweeping and well-informed primer on a number of key social and doctrinal issues affecting women in Buddhism, past and present, across Asia and beyond. Karma Lekshe Tsomo’s many years of tireless advocacy for Buddhist nuns shines through each chapter with special attention to the vexing issue of nun’s full ordination. -- Holly Gayley, author of Love Letters from Golok: A Tantric Couple in Modern TibetBuddhist women are active all over the world in changing their tradition to make it more inclusive, therefore more useful. Karma Lekshe Tsomo is a noted authority who not only chronicles the progress but has been instrumental in it. An excellent book for classes, discussion groups, and/or research. * Water Women's Alliance *With this extensive historical study, Tsomo provides a fundamental and comprehensive study of Buddhist traditions, showing a profound understanding of gender aspects and their contemporary relevance. * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisA new history of Buddhism that highlights the insights and experiences of women from diverse communities and traditions around the worldBuddhist traditions have developed over a period of twenty-five centuries in Asia, and recent decades have seen an unprecedented spread of Buddhism globally. From India to Japan, Sri Lanka to Russia, Buddhist traditions around the world have their own rich and diverse histories, cultures, religious lives, and roles for women.Wherever Buddhism has taken root, it has interacted with indigenous cultures and existing religious traditions. These traditions have inevitably influenced the ways in which Buddhist ideas and practices have been understood and adapted. Tracing the branches and fruits of these culturally specific transmissions and adaptations is as challenging as it is fascinating.Women in Buddhist Traditions chronicles pivotal moments in the story of Buddhist women, from the beginning of Buddhist history until toTrade ReviewThe Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo, the founder and a prominent leader of Sakyadhita—the only international organization for Buddhist women—and a major force of the movement for the restoration of the full ordination lineage for nuns in traditions where it had lapsed— has done more than anyone in the contemporary world to advance the role of women in Buddhism. In this volume she discusses the role that women play in that religious tradition, providing illuminating historical and doctrinal context, careful attention to the cultural and doctrinal variety within the Buddhist world and the diversity of experience of Buddhist women, and an insider’s understanding of the contemporary context of globalized Buddhism in which women are taking an increasing leadership role. Required reading for anyone interested in women in Buddhism. -- Jay Garfield, author of Engaging Buddhism: Why it Matters to PhilosophyWomen in Buddhist Traditions is a clear, substantiated, and nuanced account of the historical developments of women’s activities and contributions to the tradition. It lays a carefully articulated and highly-readable foundation and contextualization of the earliest activities relevant to women across vast geographical and cultural contexts. The significance of the volume is enhanced by contextualizing women’s concerns with Buddhist ethics. This informative volume is a deep resource for those wanting to understand the dynamics and issues Buddhist women navigate in cross-cultural perspective. It is perfect for classroom use, whether at undergraduate or graduate level. -- Paula K. R. Arai, author of Women Living Zen, Brining Zen Home, and Painting EnlightenmentSweeping in its historical and geographical breadth, presenting the essential primary texts and latest research, and beautifully written in clear and accessible prose, this book is destined to become the standard introduction to the topic of women in Buddhism. -- José Ignacio Cabezón, President, American Academy of ReligionThis is a wonderful book, by one of the premier scholars of women in Buddhism. It presents a comprehensive overview of the history of women’s contributions to Buddhist traditions in a clearly written and authoritative style, along with a nuanced and thought-provoking discussion of contemporary issues. A must read for anyone interested in women’s religious lives. -- John Powers, Deakin universityA sweeping and well-informed primer on a number of key social and doctrinal issues affecting women in Buddhism, past and present, across Asia and beyond. Karma Lekshe Tsomo’s many years of tireless advocacy for Buddhist nuns shines through each chapter with special attention to the vexing issue of nun’s full ordination. -- Holly Gayley, author of Love Letters from Golok: A Tantric Couple in Modern TibetBuddhist women are active all over the world in changing their tradition to make it more inclusive, therefore more useful. Karma Lekshe Tsomo is a noted authority who not only chronicles the progress but has been instrumental in it. An excellent book for classes, discussion groups, and/or research. * Water Women's Alliance *With this extensive historical study, Tsomo provides a fundamental and comprehensive study of Buddhist traditions, showing a profound understanding of gender aspects and their contemporary relevance. * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisAn updated introduction to the religions developed in the Caribbean regionCreole Religions of the Caribbean offers a comprehensive introduction to the overlapping religions that have developed as a result of the creolization process. Caribbean peoples drew on the variants of Christianity brought by European colonizers, as well as on African religious and healing traditions and the remnants of Amerindian practices, to fashion new systems of belief. From Vodou, Santería, Regla de Palo, the Abakuá Secret Society, and Obeah to Quimbois and Espiritismo, the volume traces the historicalcultural origins of the major Creole religions, as well as the newer traditions such as Rastafari. This third edition updates the scholarship by featuring new critical approaches that have been brought to bear on the study of religion, such as queer studies, environmental studies, and diasporic studies. The third edition also expands the regional considerations of the diaspora to the US Latinx communities thTrade ReviewCreole Religions of the Caribbean approaches readers as if they were out-of-town guests at a dinner party, thoroughly acquainting them with the topics of conversation and encouraging them to mingle among the liveliest characters. -- The Journal of ReligionBravo! A well-written text that de-mystifies Creole spiritual practices and places them in historical perspective . . . a major contribution. -- Multicultural ReviewProvides a unique sociocultural, historical and political analysis of Caribbean religion. -- Centro JournalOffers an excellent . . . multidisciplinary introduction to the scholarship in this area of study. -- New West Indian Guide

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Book SynopsisA revealing look at the identity and mission of the Black churchWhat is the true nature and mission of the church? Is its proper Christian purpose to save souls, or to transform the social order? This question is especially fraught when the church is one built by an enslaved people and formed, from its beginning, at the center of an oppressed community's fight for personhood and freedom. Such is the central tension in the identity and mission of the Black church in the United States. For decades the Black church and Black theology have held each other at arm's length. Black theology has emphasized the role of Christian faith in addressing racism and other forms of oppression, arguing that Jesus urged his disciples to seek the freedom of all peoples. Meanwhile, the Black church, even when focused on social concerns, has often emphasized personal piety rather than social protest. With the rising influence of white evangelicalism, biblical fundamentalism, and the prosperity gospel, the Trade ReviewThe book reads as an altar call to action that honors the liberationist roots of a global church community, regardless of race or gender. * Publishers Weekly *Resilient in its hope and perceptive in its analysis, this book makes a valuable contribution to imagining a liberation-focused ecclesiology. * Ecumenical Review *The Divided Mind of the Black Church is an informative work for historians, theologians, and humanities scholars interested in debating what the Black Church needs to be doing in the 21st century. * Journal of African American History *Raphael G. Warnock's The Divided Mind of the Black Church is not only a scholarly monograph but also an autobiographical work on the pietistic and prophetic traditions of the black church. * Black Theology *Warnock weaves together an impressive array of subjects to advance his argument on the & divided mind of the black church.His introduction, five chapters, and conclusion provide much in structure and content for the advancement of his burden, namely, the construction of a & self-critical liberationist community where & piety and protest may be held in balance. * Sociology of Religion *This well-written and meticulously researched treatment of black church piety and social engagement is a timely and pivotal assessment as we head into the next chapter of American religious life. * The Christian Century *As a person who is not Black, reading this book provided a learning experience for me. It has helped me better understand the dynamics of the Black church. I could also see this book serving as a way to spark discussion involving all ethnic groups as to how we can all, as fellow Christians, blend the goals of saving lost people and moving the culture toward equality for everyone. * Ministry *Embodied in this book is the sharpness of mind of one with an earned Ph.D. in theological studies and the human compassion of a pastor of one of the major churches in the United States. Rarely, if at all, do we get to relish such combined matters of the head and heart. Moreover, this groundbreaking work is rooted in deep spirituality and progressive commitment to the Bible. The ponderings in these pages echo the insightful eyes of the prophetic mystic, Howard Thurman and the scholarly activism of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Dwight N. Hopkins,editor of The Cambridge Companion to Black TheologyRaphael Warnock's The Divided Mind of the Black Church is a courageous and timely effort to reinvigorate the rich tradition of the Black Church by a full-fledged engagement with the best of its history and theology. Like the Sankofa bird, he looks to the past in order to move forward! -- Cornel West,Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological SeminaryEloquently lays waste to the false theological dilemma between advocates of individual salvation and social justice. Real religion is both personal and political; Warnock skillfully shows how that works by probing creative tensions in the black church between heavenly hunger and earthly engagement. He brilliantly enhances the distinguished intellectual achievement of the historic Ebenezer pulpit by showing how black and womanist theologies partner with the black church to bring God's mighty word to bear on our souls and society all at once. -- Michael Eric Dyson,University Professor of Sociology, Georgetown UniversityRaphael Warnock demonstrates in this book that he is a worthy occupant of the Ebenezer pulpit, following in the intellectual tradition of Martin King and his mentor, Dr. Benjamin Mays. It was faith that led us to activism. Whether one is looking to understand the foundation of civil rights, to understand the role of faith in our public life or seeking to understand a personal call to serve, this book will be enlightening. -- Andrew Young,former U.N. Ambassador, Mayor of Atlanta and Executive Vice President of SCLCRaphael Warnock is known as one of the most brilliant orators of his generation. This excellent new book reveals him to be a brilliant scholar as well. It is the first major work to critically explore the 'double-minded' relationship between the social practice of black churches and the radical implications of their historical witness against the social oppression of the black masses. Warnocks path-breaking periodization of the social activism of the black church is a major contribution to understanding the role of black churches in this nations often stumbling march toward a racially just society. . . . The Divided Mind of the Black Church is a must read for every black pastor, theologian, scholar, and anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the history and political culture of black churches and the expanding contours of black theological scholarship. -- Obery M. Hendricks, Jr.,author of The Universe Bends Toward JusticeRaphael Warnock, a son of Pentecostal preachers, a theological protégée of James Cone, and pulpit heir of Martin Luther King, Jr., is brilliantly conversant with the ivory tower of academia, yet works in the ebony trenches for justice and the liberation of the 'least of these.' In this literary gift he has insightfully traced the ecclesial and theological journey of the Black Church in America, diagnosing a 'double consciousness' that borders on bipolarity. He prophetically pronounces liberation from captivity to a borrowed oppressive theology that is illustrated by Black pastors who have a picture of Dr. King in the study, but are influenced by Rick Warren when they preach from the pulpit. This scholar-prophet-pastor, in this wonderful work, is presiding over a wedding ceremony, uniting in holy wedlock, piety and protest, the scholarship of liberation and womanist scholars and the ministry and pulpit of the Black Church, with the hope that this marriage will birth a 'new moment of a self critical liberating community.' This family of freedom and faith proposed by Dr. Warnock will usher in that day when 'justice rolls down like waters and righteousness as an ever flowing stream.' -- Frederick D. Haynes III,Senior Pastor, Friendship-West Baptist ChurchAs we celebrate the life of the most famous black pastor, Martin Luther King Jr., we should remember that the black church mission connects faith with justice and personal salvation with social transformation, and addresses personal piety and public policy for the well-being of the whole person and the whole community. It fights for the weak and sees the Gospel as 'good news for the poor.' -- Raphael G. Warnock,CNNRefusing to be content with the piety or protest divide between the Black Church and Black Theology, Warnock argues with scholarly rigor and pastoral fire for a vital partnership between the two. As a dedicated pastor and astute theologian, Warnock persuasively argues for a fifth movement in the Black Christian traditiona self-critical liberationist community that represents a public theology founded on the pietistic and liberationist dimensions of the Church. This is a must read for clergy, laity, and the academy. -- Emilie M. Townes,Dean and Professor of Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt University Divinity SchoolThe broadness and depth of Warnock's theological education and his distinguished pulpit give him the authority to ask the question: piety or protest? Warnock leads us through the history of the tensions and conversations among the black church, black theology and black pastors to boldly change this question into an exclamatory indicative: piety and protest. He admonishes all parties to move beyond the silos of their particular perspective to convene for the broader exchange of ideas, enabling us to fulfill our mission of helping to save the black community and the soul of our nation. -- James A. Forbes Jr.,Senior Pastor Emeritus, Riverside ChurchThis contribution to the enduring subject of piety and protest in black theological discourse is of special importance because it is written from the vantage point of one who stands in the gapa competent theologian with a pastoral vocationvalidating his craft in the trenches of social justice advocacy and community transformation. -- Cheryl J. Sanders,Howard University School of DivinityWarnock carefully traces the history and evolution of the independent black church in America, moving from the black church as a bastion against slavery all the way to the role Ebenezer Baptist and other black churches played in the Civil Rights Movement. He asserts that the black church's roots are in the battle for social liberation of black people, rooted in a progressive understanding of the life and message of Jesus Christ. -- Mark Reynolds * Popmatters *

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Book SynopsisAn introduction to the study of women in diverse religious culturesWhile women have made gains in equality over the past two centuries, equality for women in many religious traditions remains contested throughout the world. In the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints women are not ordained as priests. In areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan under Taliban occupation girls and women students and their teachers risk their lives to go to school. And in Sri Lanka, fully ordained Buddhist nuns are denied the government identity cards that recognize them as citizens. Is it possible to create families, societies, and religions in which women and men are equal? And if so, what are the factors that promote equality?Theory of Women in Religions offers an economic model to shed light on the forces that have impacted the respective statuses of women and men from the earliest developmental stages of society through the present day. CatheTrade ReviewTheory of Women in Religions provides an engaging and incisive examination of gender, power, and culture. As captivating and absorbing as it is thorough, it is a must-read for anyone interested in gender or religion. -- Laura Vance, Brevard CollegeHighlighting fascinating historical and contemporary examples, this book offers a persuasive grand theory of economic development, gender relations and religion. Wessinger has made a substantial contribution to the field of women and religion. -- Susan Sered, Suffolk UniversityA compelling and readable account of the complex relationships between religion and gender by a scholar at the peak of her powers. The wealth and historical breadth of examples that Wessinger amasses is stunning. What sets this book apart is Wessinger’s detailed focus on the psychological and religious factors that perpetuate male dominance and the gradual social and religious revolutions underway as women seek greater equality. Lucidly written and persuasively argued, Theory of Women in Religions should be required reading for students as well as established scholars. -- Kelly E. Hayes, author of Holy Harlots: Femininity, Sexuality, and Black Magic in Brazil

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Book SynopsisMoves the discussion of American civil religion into the twenty-first century Civil Religion, a term made popular by sociologist Robert Bellah a little over fifty years ago, describes how people might share in a sacred sense of their nation. While hotly debated, the idea continues to enjoy wide application among academics and journalists. Bellah used civil religion to make sense of the turmoil of the 1960s, especially moral debates provoked by the Vietnam War. Now, a half-century later, American society is again riven by conflict over immigration, economic inequality, racial oppression, and culture wars issues. Is Bellah's hopeful assessment still useful for understanding contemporary America? If not, how should we think of it differently?Civil Religion Today reassesses the term to take stock of its usefulness after fifty years of engagement in the field. Looking both at the concept and at ground-level studies of how we might find civil religion in practice, this book aims to push the Trade ReviewIs the concept of civil religion still relevant, more than fifty years after Robert Bellah made the term famous? According to the stellar cast of interdisciplinary scholars who contributed to this volume, the answer is yes—but only by going ‘beyond Bellah.’ Civil Religion Today makes a compelling case for keeping civil religion in our conceptual toolkit if we are to understand enduring conflict over the meaning of America. -- Ruth Braunstein, University of ConnecticutA profound and necessary book. A half-century since Robert Bellah’s seminal essay re-launched the study of civil religion, the United States is facing an alarming growth in religious nationalism and political polarization. The formidable team of scholars assembled here shed much needed light on what binds us together and what drives us apart. Even more, this book sets the agenda for the next generation of scholarship on US civil religion. -- Matthew Hedstrom, University of VirginiaMakes a strong case for the usability and enduring relevance of ‘civil religion.’ An important and timely book that should reach a wide readership. -- Kristy Nabhan-Warren, University of IowaThis is a rich and provocative discussion of the meaning of American civil religion fifty years after Robert Bellah’s famous essay. * Nova Religio *The papers in this volume largely, but not exclusively, focus on the political and social aspects of civil religion, although a few papers address theological elements as well. The papers are well written and carefully argued… * Choice *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2023 Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Book Award from the Arab American National MuseumChoice Outstanding Academic Title 2023Uncovers the surprising history of Muslim life in the early American MidwestThe American Midwest is often thought of as uniformly white, and shaped exclusively by Christian values. However, this view of the region as an unvarying landscape fails to consider a significant community at its very heart. Muslims of the Heartland uncovers the long history of Muslims in a part of the country where many readers would not expect to find them. Edward E. Curtis IV, a descendant of Syrian Midwesterners, vividly portrays the intrepid men and women who busted sod on the short-grass prairies of the Dakotas, peddled needles and lace on the streets of Cedar Rapids, and worked in the railroad car factories of Michigan City. This intimate portrait follows the stories of individuals such as farmer Mary Juma, pacifist Kassem Rameden, poet Aliya Hassen, and bookmaker Kamel OsTrade ReviewDraws on rich archival sources to create a vivid portrait of Syrian communities in the Midwest from 1900 to the 1950s ... A fresh portrayal of American history and identity. * Kirkus Reviews *As charming as it is serious, Edward Curtis’s Muslims of the Heartland reveals vibrant human dimensions of Syrian Muslim immigrant life in the modern American Midwest, from North Dakota and Iowa to Detroit. Deftly weaving quantitative records, newspaper sources, and fascinating oral interviews into intimate family histories, Curtis has crafted a vivid history of immigrants too long ignored, and in America’s least-studied region. -- Jon Butler, author of God in Gotham: The Miracle of Religion in Modern ManhattanA fascinating and highly readable history of Syrian Muslims in the Midwest in the first half of the twentieth century. With its detailed stories that importantly illuminate US racial politics, Curtis challenges the idea that Arab Muslims are newcomers to the rural Midwest and helps us imagine the Arab Muslim heartland for the first time. -- Evelyn Alsultany, author of Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11Edward Curtis IV has long been one of our surest guides to the lived experience of American Muslims, his work so crucial in challenging enduring, often dangerous stereotypes. Muslims of the Heartland introduces readers to an even broader story: the rich worlds of diverse Syrian communities with deep roots in the American Midwest. Beautifully written, Curtis’s book deepens our appreciation of the complex human history of the American Midwest. -- Edward T. Linenthal, Former Editor, Journal of American HistoryA wonderful book, casting invaluable light on our own eventful and complicated times in America, as well as on the history which Edward Curtis so richly and rivetingly explores. -- Leila Ahmed, Victor S. Thomas Research Professor of Divinity, The Divinity School, Harvard UniversityThis book would make an excellent addition to an undergraduate course on Arab American Studies or American Studies syllabi and will serve as a poignant reminder to contemporary Muslims that Islam has been a key part of America’s religious landscape throughout the twentieth century. * Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies *Scrupulously researched and annotated, this book is written with a broad audience in mind despite being published by an academic press. Focusing on the life stories of 15 real men and women, it is a very intimate and easy read. -- B. D. Singleton, California State University--San Bernardino * Choice *Providing an accurate portrait of how the travails of discrimination coexisted with social harmonization—and the role religion played in that process—is a significant challenge, but Curtis is a skilled guide. -- J. A. Schillinger * The Christian Century *

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Book SynopsisWinner, 2018 Paul J. Foik Award for Best Book on Catholic History in the American Southwest, presented by the Texas Catholic Historical Society The remarkable history of the Santuario de Chimayó, the church whose world-renowned healing powers have drawn visitors to its steps for centuries. Nestled in a valley at the feet of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, the Santuario de Chimayó has been called the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in America. To experience the Santuario's miraculous healing dirt, pilgrims and visitors first walk into the cool, adobe church, proceeding up an aisle to the altar with its magnificent crucifix. They then turn left to enter a low-slung room filled with cast-off crutches, a statue of the Santo Niño de Atocha, and photos of thousands of people who have been prayed for in the exact spot they are standing. An adjacent room, stark by contrast, contains little but a hole in the floor, known as the pocito. From this well in the earth, the SantTrade ReviewDetailed and well researched, the work is a solid and intriguing look at the history of the Santuario and the construction of the Santuario as central to the ways we imagine and understand the continuing fascination and allure of Northern New Mexico. * H-Net Reviews *The challenge Hendrickson raises in his book engages questions relating to border territories, religion, and tourism as reflected in the santuario … The Healing Power of the Santuario de Chimay´o reclaims the unique political and religious heritage of Nuevomexicanos—rather than Hispanics, Latinos, or Mexican Americans—that has been overlooked by both academics and leaders in the Roman Catholic Church. Hendrickson believes that a greater awareness and respect for the santurario’s historical position “as one of the most important religious sites in North America” can help reframe discussions about the complex history of Christianity in the United States today (5). The book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of Chicano studies, religious studies, and U.S. history. Lay leaders and clerics within the Roman Catholic Church and Hispanic/Latino community will also find the book valuable. Finally, any individual broadly interested in the intersection of religion and politics on the border will appreciate the colorful history Brett Hendrickson presents -- Nova ReligioHendrickson shows us that theorizing while neglecting historical data is as much a claim of ownership of whatever we are studying as are the projections of the various groups that claim Chimayo for their own. Good advice. * Sociology of Religion *A rich and multidimensional study. Hendricksons approach to the remarkably understudied pilgrimage site of Chimayó is nuanced with historical and contemporary perspectives. This case study greatly illuminates the history of New Mexico and will become a go-to book for students of religion in the borderlands. -- Roberto Lint Sagarena,Middlebury CollegeIn this tenderly and often profoundly written book, Brett Hendrickson unpacks the overlapping claims to religious ownership that locals, church leaders, pilgrims, tourists, and sometimes scholars make to the Santuario de Chimayó, a place layered with experiences of miraculous dirt and shaped by the legacies of competing empires. This is a story that needed to be told, and Hendrickson shows how it resonates far beyond the borders and borderlands of New Mexico. -- Tisa Wenger,author of We Have a Religion

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Book SynopsisHow embryo adoption advances the Christian Right's political goals for creating a Christian nationIn 1997, a group of white pro-life evangelical Christians in the United States created the nation's first embryo adoption program to save the thousands of frozen human embryos remaining from assisted reproduction procedures, which they contend are unborn children. While a small part of US fertility services, embryo adoption has played an outsized role in conservative politics, from high-profile battles over public investment in human embryonic stem cell research to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Based on six years of ethnographic research with embryo adoption staff and participants, Risa Cromer uncovers how embryo adoption advances ambitious political goals for expanding the influence of conservative Christian values and power.Conceiving Christian America is the first book on embryo adoption tracing how this powerful social movement draws on white saviorist troTrade Review"A stunning portrait of how the reproductive politics of ‘saving’ embryos is closely tied to contemporary right-wing politics of ‘saving’ lives through abortion bans. A must-read." -- Marcia Inhorn, author of Motherhood on Ice: The Mating Gap and Why Women Freeze Their Eggs"Beautifully written and thoroughly researched. Conceiving Christian America is a brilliant tribute to the tradition of feminist cultural analysis out of which it emerges. This book will surely become an instant classic." -- Sarah Franklin, Director, Reproductive Sociology Research Group, University of Cambridge"Remarkable and timely. . . . Cromer brings nuance and sophistication to understanding what lies behind the polarizing politics of the culture wars around reproduction in America." -- Faye Ginsburg, co-editor, Conceiving the New World Order: The Global Politics of Reproduction"Brimming with riveting stories . . . Cromer presents a compelling look inside a growing social movement that aims to transform how we think about embryos, reproduction, and the nation. Conceiving Christian America offers invaluable insight for clinicians and policymakers, andmakes a powerful contribution to feminist social science on the reproductive politics of American conservatism." -- Lynn Morgan, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Mount Holyoke College"Cromer emphasizes her encounters with many individuals who support embryo adoption yet reject these associations–and in fact draw on their faith tradition to oppose these distorted values. Her final reflections, however, invite us to a more sobering conclusion: the entrenched patterns of white innocence and white saviorism operating in embryo adoption fuel the larger project of the far right, which has greater ambitions and threatens devastating consequences." * Center for Genetics and Society *

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Book SynopsisFinalist, Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion, Analytical-Descriptive Studies, given by the American Academy of Religion A comprehensive collection of the pioneering work of Leonard Norman Primiano, one of the preeminent scholars in religious studies In 1995, Leonard Norman Primiano introduced the idea of "vernacular religion." He coined this term to overcome the denigration implied in the concept of "folk religion" or "popular religion," which was juxtaposed to "elite religion." This two-tiered model suggested that religion existed somewhere in a pure form and that the folk version transforms it. Instead, Primiano urged scholars to adopt an inductive approach to the study of religion and to pay attention to experiential aspects of belief systems, ultimately redressing a heritage of scholarly misinterpretation. Here for the first time, Leonard Norman Primiano's pioneering works have been collected into one volume, providing a foundational look at one of the preeminent scholars of twentieth-century religious studies. Vernacular Religion makes visible the dimensions of vernacular religion in North America, exemplifying the richness of its ability to explain key facets of American society, including especially thorny issues around race and sexuality. The volume also demonstrates a method of abiding engagement, the creation of ongoing relationships with those who are studied, and how the relationship between scholars and the communities they study inform an ethics of critical commitmentwhat Primiano calls an "ethnography of collaboration and reciprocity." This posthumous collection, edited by Deborah Dash Moore, brings together key studies in vernacular religion that explore its expression among such varied groups as Catholics, LGBTQ Christians, and the followers of Father Divine. Vernacular Religion models empathetic ethnographic engagement that embraces American religion in all its rich diversity, illuminating Primiano's enduring legacy.Trade ReviewReading this work, I feel nothing so much as grateful that someone had the idea to do this ‘collected works’ project. . . . Primiano’s study of Dignity is the best work on Dignity. His study of the Peace Mission is the best work on Father Divine. . . . This volume not only collects important essays, but also reflects to the field more of itself, a part that has been missing or under-told to this point. -- Julie Byrne, Monsignor Thomas J. Hartman Chair in Catholic Studies and Professor in the Department of Religion, Hofstra UniversityThis impressive volume persuasively recommends and gorgeously exemplifies a nuanced courageous scholarship of human engagement and commitment. -- Sally M. Promey, Director, Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion, Yale UniversityThe collection is compelling, with rich ethnographic details, and represents a major contribution to the field as a body of work. -- Jodi Eichler-Levine, Berman Professor of Jewish Civilization and Professor of Religion Studies, Lehigh University

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2021 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish StudiesHonorable Mention, 2021 Saul Viener Book Prize, given by the American Jewish Historical SocietyReveals nostalgia as a new way of maintaining Jewish continuityIn 2007, the Museum at Eldridge Street opened at the site of a restored nineteenth-century synagogue originally built by some of the first Eastern European Jewish immigrants in New York City. Visitors to the museum are invited to stand along indentations on the floor where footprints of congregants past have worn down the soft pinewood. Here, many feel a palpable connection to the history surrounding them.Beyond the Synagogue argues that nostalgic activities such as visiting the Museum at Eldridge Street or eating traditional Jewish foods should be understood as American Jewish religious practices. In making the case that these practices are not just cultural, but are actually religious, RTrade ReviewGross seeks to expand how we understand the practice of American Judaism to include Jewish nostalgia, and argues that any notions of American Jewish religiosity being in ‘decline’ are false; it’s rather how we understand American Judaism that needs to be expanded. * Alma Magazine *Gross demonstrates how nostalgia does much of the same work as religion and can therefore be properly understood as religious itself ... Gross compellingly points to a Jewish life that seems to have been flourishing already for members of at least four generations of American Jews. She gives her readers tools to ask a vital question: where to look to discover robust Jewish life as it is occurring all around us. * Moment Magazine *Gross’ assessment of the way institutional Judaism dismisses activities that aren’t officially Jewish is well-argued and comprehensive ... and her book challenges prevailing orthodoxies of American Jewish life with respect and purpose. * Jewish Exponent *A stunning and timely volume on heritage production and material nostalgia that is sure to be an instant classic on American Jewishness. This is groundbreaking scholarship at multiple levels of analysis: for its compelling reconfigurations of American Jewish religious practice—and for its elegant expansion of American religion’s affective parameters. A must read! -- Sally M. Promey, editor of Sensational Religion: Sensory Cultures in Material PracticeBrilliant and innovative, Beyond the Synagogue is a game changer. Each chapter draws us in, deepening our understanding of how objects and places participate in nostalgia. Gross’s book is destined to change the way we think about how and where Jews ‘do’ religion. -- Laura Arnold Leibman, author of The Art of the Jewish FamilyThis studious and careful book is brave and beautiful in equal measure. I defy anyone who reads it to be left unmoved by the power of what Gross records. Beyond the Synagogue proves definitively that studying religion requires thinking about what people feel in the present as they think again about pasts they can't stop retelling. -- Kathryn Lofton, author of Consuming ReligionIn this vivid and convincing work, Rachel Gross creatively expands what counts as religious practice. Museum spaces, deli menus, genealogical enterprises, and children’s toys—Gross explores them all as revealing facets of American Jewish memory, the materials of both nostalgia and ongoing religious expression. She powerfully evokes the longing for remembrance, for a palpable reconnection with the past, contained within seemingly ordinary objects and activities. -- Leigh E. Schmidt, Washington University in St. LouisBeyond the Synagogue breaks important methodological ground in the study of American Jewish religion, especially by drawing key theoretical insights from the field of American religion. * American Religion *The freshness of Gross's argument… and the liveliness of her writing, is certain to attract both scholars and general readers with an interest in secular Judaism and American Jewish culture. * Contemporary Jewry *

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Book SynopsisCharts the development of progressive Christianity's engagement with modern science, historical criticism, and liberal humanismChristians who have doubts about the existence of God? Who do not believe in the divinity of Jesus? Who reject the accuracy of the Bible? The New Heretics explores the development of progressive Christianity, a movement of Christians who do not reject their identity as Christians, but who believe Christianity must be updated for today's times and take into consideration modern science, historical criticism, and liberal humanism. Drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork in North America, Rebekka King focuses on testimonies of deconversion, collective reading practices, and the ways in which religious beliefs and practices are adapted to fit secular lives. King introduces the concept of lived secularity as a category with which to examine the ways in which religiosity often is entangled with and subsumed by secular identities over and against religious Trade Review"An extraordinary work: engaging and insightful from cover to cover. King’s organizing concept of lived secularity makes an innovative contribution that scholars across disciplines will find useful." -- James Bielo, Miami University"King deftly brings to life her concept of ‘lived secularity’ through vivid testimony and engaging scholarship. . . . The New Heretics furthers our understanding of contemporary Christianity." -- Ryan Cragun, The University of Tampa

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Book SynopsisExamines how religious leaders use premarital counseling to influence how we view intimacyIt is well-known that the institution of marriage has changed dramatically in the past few decades. However, very little research has focused on the role of religious institutions in helping couples form and maintain their relationships.Guiding God's Marriage offers an examination of Christian marriage preparation programs, exploring their efforts to stabilize the institution of marriage and highlighting the tension between individualism and community in people's relational lives. Marriage preparation programs offer a useful lens through which to trace shifts in both religious and family institutions because they set out clear and intentional articulations of marriage ideologies and gendered relationship scripts by faith communities. By documenting the changes in content and practices of Christian premarital education along with its advice regarding what makes a good m

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Book SynopsisExamines how religious leaders use premarital counseling to influence how we view intimacyIt is well-known that the institution of marriage has changed dramatically in the past few decades. However, very little research has focused on the role of religious institutions in helping couples form and maintain their relationships.Guiding God's Marriage offers an examination of Christian marriage preparation programs, exploring their efforts to stabilize the institution of marriage and highlighting the tension between individualism and community in people's relational lives. Marriage preparation programs offer a useful lens through which to trace shifts in both religious and family institutions because they set out clear and intentional articulations of marriage ideologies and gendered relationship scripts by faith communities. By documenting the changes in content and practices of Christian premarital education along with its advice regarding what makes a good m

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Book Synopsis73rd National Jewish Book Awards FinalistCharts how changes to Jewish education in the nineteenth century served as a site for the wholescale reimagining of Judaism itselfThe earliest Jewish Sunday schools were female-led, growing from one school in Philadelphia established by Rebecca Gratz in 1838 to an entire system that educated vast numbers of Jewish youth across the country. These schools were modeled on Christian approaches to religious education and aimed to protect Jewish children from Protestant missionaries. But debates soon swirled around the so-called sorry state of feminized American Jewish supplemental learning, and the schools were taken over by men within one generation of their creation. It is commonly assumed that the critiques were accurate and that the early Jewish Sunday school was too feminized, saccharine, and dependent on Christian paradigms. Tracing the development of these schools from their inception through the firstTrade ReviewFills a major gap in the history of Jewish education in America. This is the first detailed study of the decades between the founding of the first Jewish Sunday School in 1838 and the development of the alternative model of the Talmud Torah during the earliest years of the 20th century. A significant contribution to the fields of religion, education, and history. -- Melissa R. Klapper, Rowan UniversityMeticulously researched and elegantly written. Featuring tremendous original historical research and vivid prose, this is an engaging and impressive addition to the study of religion in the United States and American Jewish history. -- Jodi Eichler-Levine, author of Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis: How Jews Craft Resilience and Create CommunityJewish Sunday Schools is an engrossing, cohesive history of the unsung, integral role of women in American Jewish religious education. * Foreword Reviews *This title offers a window into the formation of the American Jewish community. A very well-researched book of interest to anyone who ever attended or sent their child to a Jewish Sunday school. * Library Journal *Yares skillfully details early framings of nineteenth-century American Judaism while placing those framings within the context of American religion. Jewish Sunday Schools will provoke and inform those thinking about current issues in American Jewish education. -- Karla Goldman, author of Beyond the Synagogue Gallery: Finding a Place for Women in American Judaism

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Book SynopsisThe untold story of the federal government's Depression-era effort to redeem Dust Bowl refugees in rural California through religionIn the midst of the Great Depression, punished by crippling drought and deepening poverty, hundreds of thousands of families left the Great Plains and the Southwest to look for work in California's rich agricultural valleys. In response to the scene of destitute white families living in filthy shelters built of cardboard, twigs, and refuse, reform-minded New Deal officials built a series of camps to provide them with shelter and community.Using the extensive archives of the federal migratory camp system, From Dust They Came tells the story of the religious dynamics in and around migratory farm labor camps in agricultural California established and operated by the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration. Jonathan H. Ebel makes the case that the camps served as mission sites for the conversion of migrantsTrade ReviewOver the course of his career, Ebel has brilliantly excavated the entangling of American religious and secular beliefs, and From Dust They Came, about New Deal migrant camps where progressive administrators cautiously evangelized modernity to migrants with a diverse and sometimes riotous set of religious beliefs and practices, is a masterful book containing deep resonances with contemporary debates. * Philip Klay, author of National Book Award winner Redeployment *With his close reading of government camps for displaced workers, Ebel shows how modern American religion is not only discernable, but perhaps best understood as it manifests in purportedly secular spaces. From Dust They Came carefully attends to the best-laid plans and raucous refusals prompted by economic and environmental disaster. In so doing, it makes an important contribution to conversations about religion, secularity, and the persistent American impulse towards reform. Highly recommended. * Jennifer Graber, author of The Gods of Indian Country: Religion and the Struggle for the American West *Essential reading for anyone interested in the New Deal. Ebel deftly illustrates how the federal government's secular purpose to reform and remake the migrants for a modern, capitalist world clashed with the evangelical, biblically literate migrants who organized their own social and cultural world within the structured spaces of the camps. This is an important study that surely will become a classic. * R. Douglas Hurt, author of The Big Empty: The Great Plains in the Twentieth Century *In an innovative perspective on church and state relations, Ebel asks us to return to the New Deal era to better understand the reforming spirit. Of special note is the inclusion of the camp residents’ voices as they pushed back against the modernizing program through their poetry and songs as well as their commitment to Pentecostal forms of worship. From Dust They Came is a sensitive exploration of what Ebel calls ‘mission communities’ that is lyrically written and meticulously researched. * Colleen McDanell, Professor of History and Sterling McMurrin Professor of Religious Studies, The University of Utah *

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Book SynopsisTells the story of the founding of American Christianity against the backdrop of devastating disease, and of the Indigenous survivors who kept the nascent faith aliveMany scholars have come to think of the European Christian mission to the Americas as an inevitable success. But in its early period it was very much on the brink of failure. In 1576, Indigenous Mexican communities suffered a catastrophic epidemic that took almost two million lives and simultaneously left the colonial church in ruins. In the crisis and its immediate aftermath, Spanish missionaries and surviving pueblos de indios held radically different visions for the future of Christianity in the Americas. The Church of the Dead offers a counter-history of American Christian origins. It centers the power of Indigenous Mexicans, showing how their Catholic faith remained intact even in the face of the faltering religious fervor of Spanish missionaries. While the Europeans grappled with tTrade ReviewIn this sharp study, historian Hughes examines the devastating epidemic of 1576 in what is present-day Mexico and its effects on the expansion of Christianity ... Hughes draws on art, architecture, and landscapes to paint a consistently rich, accessible portrait of the era. This impressive work persuasively challenges ideas about the inevitability and nature of the 'Christianizing' mission in the Americas. * STARRED Publishers Weekly *Truly magnificent. Deftly overturning narratives of triumphant Christianization, Hughes shows us a colonial church born out of loss and devastation and shaped fundamentally by Indigenous survivors. It is both a scholarly tour de force—meticulously researched and methodologically sophisticated—and a beautiful work of mourning and memorial. -- Jessica Delgado, The Ohio State University, ColumbusArgues eloquently and persuasively that Catholicism in Mexico was forged in and through death. Attentive to the affective aspects of colonial rule, Scheper Hughes studies missionaries’ despair as they witness their ‘new world’ body of Christ dying, a view indigenous peoples utilize to solidify control over their new world. In a brilliant move, she points to what has been hiding in plain sight: future-oriented indigenous Catholic communities demanding that Crown and Church live up to the possibilities that pueblos de indios now envisioned as their due as members of the body of Christ. -- J. Michelle Molina, author of To Overcome Oneself: The Jesuit Ethic and Spirit of Global Expansion, 1520–1767A brilliant and timely book, reminding us of how America’s First Nations dealt with epidemic disasters far more lethal than the 2.5 million lost to COVID-19. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire led to some 20 million deaths from smallpox and what the natives called “cocoliztli” (salmonella). How the Mexica implored the aid of their gods, and how they tried to religiously understand the collapse of their society, is the shocking story Jennifer Scheper Hughes tells. -- Ramón A. Gutiérrez, University of ChicagoThe Church of the Dead is a unique history of Christianity in the Americas because it centers death as a founding principle but examines the surviving practices as exceptionally autonomous in Indigenous communities. Best suited for theologians and historians, it breathes affective life into our understanding of past pandemics, at a time when everyone struggles with the reality of COVID-19. -- Rebecca Dufendach, Stevenson University * Hispanic American Historical Review *[M]akes the convincing case for the position of late sixteenth-century Indigenous Mexicans as vital actors in the forging of American Christianity in the face of demographic catastrophe brought by the arrival of Europeans on Indigenous land. -- Sierra L. Lawson * Religion *Jennifer Scheper Hughes breathes new life into an important topic…Readers of this journal will be most impressed by Hughes’s theological readings of her primary sources. * American Religion *This powerful book reorients American Christianity in time and space, grounding it firmly in the history of Indigenous peoples. * Christian Century Book Review *The Church of the Dead is a stunning work that offers a powerful counter-history of Christianity in the Americas…Rather than being passive vessels for the Christian message, Hughes convincingly argues that Christianity may not have survived without the sacred labor of Native communities. Similarly, her attention to the spatial dimension of imperial domination and subaltern resistance through extensive cartographic analysis points to future areas of research for scholars working at the intersection of the history of Christianity, Religions of North America, and Indigenous studies. -- Joshua Mendez * Reading Religion *The book presents an indigenous-centered discussion of its themes, a practice which is increasingly prevalent but still quite uncommon... Scheper Hughes’s approach and style are critical for balancing the Eurocentric tendencies of scholarship on Central America, and is a welcome addition to the ongoing discussion. * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2023 Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Book Award from the Arab American National MuseumChoice Outstanding Academic Title 2023Uncovers the surprising history of Muslim life in the early American MidwestThe American Midwest is often thought of as uniformly white, and shaped exclusively by Christian values. However, this view of the region as an unvarying landscape fails to consider a significant community at its very heart. Muslims of the Heartland uncovers the long history of Muslims in a part of the country where many readers would not expect to find them.Edward E. Curtis IV, a descendant of Syrian Midwesterners, vividly portrays the intrepid men and women who busted sod on the short-grass prairies of the Dakotas, peddled needles and lace on the streets of Cedar Rapids, and worked in the railroad car factories of Michigan City. This intimate portrait follows the stories of individuals such as farmer Mary Juma, pacifist Kassem RamedTrade Review"Draws on rich archival sources to create a vivid portrait of Syrian communities in the Midwest from 1900 to the 1950s ... A fresh portrayal of American history and identity." * Kirkus Reviews *"As charming as it is serious, Edward Curtis’s Muslims of the Heartland reveals vibrant human dimensions of Syrian Muslim immigrant life in the modern American Midwest, from North Dakota and Iowa to Detroit. Deftly weaving quantitative records, newspaper sources, and fascinating oral interviews into intimate family histories, Curtis has crafted a vivid history of immigrants too long ignored, and in America’s least-studied region." -- Jon Butler, author of God in Gotham: The Miracle of Religion in Modern Manhattan"A fascinating and highly readable history of Syrian Muslims in the Midwest in the first half of the twentieth century. With its detailed stories that importantly illuminate US racial politics, Curtis challenges the idea that Arab Muslims are newcomers to the rural Midwest and helps us imagine the Arab Muslim heartland for the first time." -- Evelyn Alsultany, author of Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11"Edward Curtis IV has long been one of our surest guides to the lived experience of American Muslims, his work so crucial in challenging enduring, often dangerous stereotypes. Muslims of the Heartland introduces readers to an even broader story: the rich worlds of diverse Syrian communities with deep roots in the American Midwest. Beautifully written, Curtis’s book deepens our appreciation of the complex human history of the American Midwest." -- Edward T. Linenthal, Former Editor, Journal of American History"A wonderful book, casting invaluable light on our own eventful and complicated times in America, as well as on the history which Edward Curtis so richly and rivetingly explores." -- Leila Ahmed, Victor S. Thomas Research Professor of Divinity, The Divinity School, Harvard University"This book would make an excellent addition to an undergraduate course on Arab American Studies or American Studies syllabi and will serve as a poignant reminder to contemporary Muslims that Islam has been a key part of America’s religious landscape throughout the twentieth century." * Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies *"Scrupulously researched and annotated, this book is written with a broad audience in mind despite being published by an academic press. Focusing on the life stories of 15 real men and women, it is a very intimate and easy read." -- B. D. Singleton, California State University--San Bernardino * Choice *"Providing an accurate portrait of how the travails of discrimination coexisted with social harmonization—and the role religion played in that process—is a significant challenge, but Curtis is a skilled guide." -- J. A. Schillinger * The Christian Century *

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Book SynopsisTraces the development of Catholic cultures in the South, the Midwest, the West, and the Northeast, and their contribution to larger patterns of Catholicism in the United StatesMost histories of American Catholicism take a national focus, leading to a homogenization of American Catholicism that misses much of the local complexity that has marked how Catholicism developed differently in different parts of the country. Such histories often treat northeastern Catholicism, such as the Irish Catholicism of Boston, as if it reflects the full history and experience of Catholicism across the United States. The Making of American Catholicism argues that regional and transnational relationships have been central to the development of American Catholicism. The American Catholic experience has diverged significantly among regions; if we do not examine how it has taken shape in local cultures, we miss a lot. Exploring the history of Catholic cultures in New Orleans, Iowa, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, Trade ReviewThis well-researched book offers a compelling argument for the importance of regional, transnational, and local realities in understanding the history of U.S. Catholicism. -- Steven M. Avella, Marquette UniversityAn insightfully transnational study that assesses how factors such as the colonial legacies of French and Hispanic Catholic settlers, the homelands of European immigrants, and the international cult of Marian apparitions shaped Catholic communities that rooted themselves in particular times and places. -- Timothy Matovina, author of Theologies of Guadalupe: From the Era of Conquest to Pope FrancisPfeifer’s work shifts the focus from the traditional centers of the Northeast and industrial urban Midwest to places like New Orleans, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles. In the process, Catholics of different ethnicities, race, and transnational ties assume new significance. Even New York's Hell Kitchen Catholicism gains fresh treatment in Pfeifer's rendering. An important book that advances the most exciting contemporary currents in the study of Catholics in the US. -- Anthony B. Smith, The University of DaytonFrom New Orleans to Iowa City and from rural Wisconsin to urban California, Michael Pfeifer asks us to think about the local particularities of the American Catholic experience. He shows us how the development of regional cultures played a crucial role in shaping the lives of Catholics from the colonial period to the present. -- Michael Pasquier, author of Religion in America: The BasicsA timely and important book. Pfeifer is an excellent, evocative writer, providing us with a treasure trove of fascinating details of twentieth century lived Catholicism, all the while showing the dynamic blend of transnationalism, regionalism, and nationalism that informs American Catholic identities. A must-read for anyone interested in American religious history. -- Kristy Nabhan-Warren, The University of IowaMichael J. Pfeifer’s The Making of American Catholicism: Regional Culture and the Catholic Experience is a fascinating exploration of the intersection of place, culture, time, and identity. In date- and place-bound situations, he surveys themes of contemporary concern (globally, but especially in the United States). Pfeifer’s skill in making connections across seemingly disparate places and events prompts the reader to extend the insights beyond the representative areas specifically addressed in the book. * Reading Religion *Lucidly written Pfeifer’s book will be a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students, and researchers in religion, politics, and the sociology of the Catholic church in the United States. -- Christopher J. Akor, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa * Religion Book Reviews *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2018 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in Textual Studies, presented by the American Academy of Religion 2018 Outstanding Academic Title, given by Choice MagazineA new perspective on the role of religion in the work of Langston HughesLangston's Salvation offers a fascinating exploration into the religious thought of Langston Hughes. Known for his poetry, plays, and social activism, the importance of religion in Hughes' work has historically been ignored or dismissed. This book puts this aspect of Hughes work front and center, placing it into the wider context of twentieth-century American and African American religious cultures. Best brings to life the religious orientation of Hughes work, illuminating how this powerful figure helped to expand the definition of African American religion during this time. Best argues that contrary to popular perception, Hughes was neither an avowed atheist nor unconcerned with religious matters. He demonstrates that Hughes' relTrade Review"As Wallace Best portrays him in this stunning, brilliantly argued and written work, Langston Hughes is a poet and prophet who spoke to the deepest dilemmas of African American Christianity in the uncompromising language of religious and artistic modernism. The road to Langstons salvation was not straight, and as he charts its course over time, Best enlarges the field of American religious history and the meaning of modern 'religion' itself." -- Robert A. Orsi,Professor of Religious Studies and History, Northwestern"Inspired by his expert knowledge both of African American (and American) religion in general and Langston Hughes in particular, Wallace D. Best offers us here a bold, novel, complex, and yet highly persuasive reassessment of this marvelous writer's mind and art. Professor Best's book is the product of exhaustive research and scrupulous reasoning. The result is probably the most exciting study of Hughesand of the modern, essentially urban interplay between religion and literature epitomized in Hughess workthat we have seen in many a year." -- Arnold Rampersad,Stanford University, author of The Life of Langston Hughes"Taking its point of departure from young Langston Hughess conversion experience in Kansas that he later described as one of three key moments in his life, Langstons Salvation gives the reader a full and cogent analysis of the central importance of religion in Hughess œuvre, extending from the spiritual themes in his early poems to the 'gospel years' surrounding Tambourines of Glory, and including even Hughess most controversial poem, 'Goodbye Christ.' Based on much archival research and a full examination of the vast secondary literature going back to Benjamin Mays and Jean Wagner, Wallace Best offers a reconsideration of Hughess often prescient thinking about religion and shows compellingly that Hughess work was, at the very least, 'not anti-religious,' as Hughes himself put it." -- Werner Sollors,Henry B. and Anne M. Research Professor of English, Harvard University"With close readings of Langston Hughes's poetry and with finely tuned arguments about the place of religion during the early twentieth century, Wallace Best provides what none has offered before: he shows the beautiful mind of Langston Hughes as a 'thinker about religion.'Langston's Salvation heralds a new day, perhaps even a renaissance, not only in the study Hughes and his poetry, but also of liberal religion in the United States. It is impossible to read Langston's Salvation and fail to wonder what other great writers of the past have to offer if we follow Best's lead and approach them as thinkers about religion. This book is like Hughes's poetry: an invitation to see more than what's on the surface." -- Edward J. Blum,author of W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet"Meticulously researched from an interdisciplinary perspective, with attention to the frameworks of religious studies, history, literary criticism, and African American studies,Langston's Salvationis an indispensable guide to Hughes and religion." * Choice *"[A] meticulous account of Hughess religious provocations in his literary work...Offering astounding historical and literary analysis to some of his widely popular and some of his lesser -known works such as The Negro Speaks of Rivers andTambourines to Gloryrespectively, Best explicates Hughess works to explore the religious orientation in his writings." * Black Perspectives *"Best weaves together the varied and often controversial strands of Hughes's lifean unsuccessful religious conversion, progressive politics, and an intriguing but doomed trip to Russia to create a filmin order to paint a more complete picture of a nonconformist and his modern relationship with religion. . . a well-researched argument that offers a vivid perspective on a literary giant." * Publishers Weekly *"Langstons Salvation provides thorough details of Hughess transition from a young poet to one who used his message of change and enlightenment in written and spoken form. Best gives an intense perspective of his championing of race issues and quest for religious understanding. Its a great book for delving more deeply into the meaning of his works." * Reading Religion *"Best’s scrupulously researched, clearly written, and well-argued book is an important contribution to the field of African American religious history." * Journal of African American History *"Best offers a theologically informed reading of Hughes, making the book useful for general audiences and scholars of religion who hope to explore the under-analyzed religious themes in Hughes’s work." * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisDespite an outpouring of scholarship on the Holocaust, little work has focused on what happened to Europe's Jewish communities after the war ended. And unlike many other European nations in which the majority of the Jewish population perished, France had a significant post-war Jewish community that numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Post-Holocaust France and the Jews, 19451955 offers new insight on key aspects of French Jewish life in the decades following the end of World War II. How Jews had been treated during the war continued to influence both Jewish and non-Jewish society in the post-war years. The volume examines the ways in which moral and political issues of responsibility combined with the urgent problems and practicalities of restoration, and it illustrates how national imperatives, international dynamics, and a changed self-perception all profoundly helped to shape the fortunes of postwar French Judaism.Comprehensive and informed, this volume offers a rich variety of Trade ReviewThis astute and wide-ranging collection captures multiple dimensions of French Jews reactions after World War II to a society that simultaneously had delivered 76,000 of them to death yet saved almost nine-tenths of those who had been born in France. Appearing at a time when the existence of a French Jewish community seems imperiled once more, this book is especially instructive. -- Peter Hayes,Theodore Zev Weiss Holocaust Educational Foundation Professor, Northwestern UniversityThis important and much-needed volume brings together an impressive collection of international scholars to tell the complex and fascinating story of postwar France. It is a story of destruction and reconstruction, despair and hope, memory and desire. Not only does this book help us to understand the convoluted relationship between France and the Jews, it deftly enriches our understanding of sociopolitical renewal within the broader context of European transnationalism. -- Aaron W. Hughes,author of The Study of Judaism: Identity, Authenticity, ScholarshipIn shining a light on the early post-war period, this readable and thought-provoking volume resonates with recent Anglophone scholarly contributions by Shannon Fogg and Leora Auslander on the work of the French restitution committee in the late 1940s. * Journal of Jewish Studies *Erudite and eloquent, the collection overcomes the constraints of a decennial approach, encouraging us to reflect on the changing historical relationship between Jews and the state, and illustrating consistently how decisions taken at this time affect Jews in contemporary France. Above all, it paints a poignant and vivid picture of a community that, in the aftermath of calamity, sought to combine new and existing tactics to rebuild for the future. * French History *This book should be essential reading for scholars of the Jewish dimension of French culture in the twentieth century. * French Studies *This edited volume examines the reconstruction of Jewish life in France after the Holocaust. Focusing on the first ten years after the war, editors Hand and Katz bring together diverse scholars whose essays will engage students and scholars of French and Jewish history.Cohesive and thought provoking, this book offers new paths of inquiry on a decade of critical change in France. Summing Up: Highly recommended. * Choice *Table of ContentsContents 1. The Revival of French Jewry in Post- Holocaust France: Challenges and Opportunities 26 David Weinberg 2. Th e Encounter between "Native" and "Immigrant" Jews in Post- Holocaust France: Negotiating Diff erence 38 Maud Mandel 3. Centralizing the Political Jewish Voice in Post- Holocaust France: Discretion and Development 58 Samuel Ghiles- Meilhac 4. Post- Holocaust Book Restitutions: How One State Agency Helped Revive Republican Franco- Judaism 71 Lisa Moses Leff 5. Lost Children and Lost Childhoods: Memory in Post- Holocaust France 85 Daniella Doron 6. Orphans of the Shoah and Jewish Identity in Post- Holocaust France: From the Individual to the Collective 118 Susan Rubin Suleiman 7. Jewish Children's Homes in Post- Holocaust France: Personal T.moignages 139 Lucille Cairns 8. Post- Holocaust French Writing: Refl ecting on Evil in 1947 156 Bruno Chaouat vi | Contents 9. L.on Poliakov, the Origins of Holocaust Studies, and Th eories of Anti- Semitism: Rereading Br.viaire de la haine 169 Jonathan Judaken 10. Andr. Neher: A Post- Shoah Prophetic Vocation 193 Edward K. Kaplan

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Book SynopsisWinner, 2017 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies presented by the Jewish Book Council Finalist, 2017 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, presented by the Jewish Book Council An engaging history of how Jews forged their own religious culture on the American frontierJews on the Frontier offers a religious history that begins in an unexpected place: on the road. Shari Rabin recounts the journey of Jewish people as they left Eastern cities and ventured into the American West and South during the nineteenth century. It brings to life the successes and obstacles of these travels, from the unprecedented economic opportunities to the anonymity and loneliness that complicated the many legal obligations of traditional Jewish life. Without government-supported communities or reliable authorities, where could one procure kosher meat? Alone in the American wilderness, how could one find nine co-religionists for a minyan (prTrade ReviewRabin makes a compelling case here that the full arc of American Jewish history cannot ignore the young Jewish men who pursued their livelihoods by heading for the frontier. Their religious inconsistencies, creativities, and sense of empowerment as ordinary Jews may actually serve as a better template for thinking about how Judaism developed in America. * Annals of Iowa *Rabins clarion call to reimagine the labels we use to describe ourselves, to embrace diasporism, and to resist centralized practices speaks to a generation that actively deconstructs patriarchal and heteronormative structures, thinks more globally, and operates outside the institutional framework. . . . Jews on the Frontieris a valuable read not only for scholars of American Jewish and American religious history, but change-minded activists and citizens as well. * Marginalia Review of Books *Jews on the Frontier stands as a significant historiographical intervention in de-centering established institutions and denominations and the Protestant secular from the narratives of minority religions and religious communities. * Reading Religion *Rabin convincingly describes frontier mobility as the motive force behind one of the most creative and constructive eras in American Judaism. * The Journal of Southern Religion *In [an] enlightening study largely focusing on the preCivil War South and West, Rabinexamines the intertwining of Jews and mobility in the 19th-century US...Impressively documented, this intriguing exploration is appropriate for general libraries. * Choice *Jews on the Frontier is a compelling account of the cultural and spiritual changes experienced by American Jews outside the main coastal cities and their large congregations before the large East-European emigration waves of the late Nineteenth-Century. * Civil War Book Review *"Scholars of immigration have toiled for years on the question of how mobility affects nationalities and group identities alike. In Jews on the Frontier, Shari Rabin gives this framework an interesting twist by investigating mobility’s influence on religion. By relying on personal letters, published articles, and other first-hand testimonies, Rabin argues that the expanding United States created a uniquely American religion. * American Jewish Archives Journal *Generating as many questions about the nineteenth century American Jewish experience as answers, Rabins study enables us to take its measure, to see Jewish life on its own terms: as a full-throttled, complex, lively culture all its own rather than a backdrop to the sea changes of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. * American Historical Review *For far too long, historians of American Jews have glossed over most of the nineteenth century, as preamble for the truer or more interesting histories of twentieth-century American Jewry. Rabin offers a deeply researched, beautifully rendered case for the centrality of the nineteenth century to how we understand American Judaism. By looking toward ethnographic models, material culture, and narrative techniques, she argues that the provisionality, the instability, and the mobility of nineteenth-century Judaism created new modes of Jewish life suitable to endure in the American environment. Following in the footsteps of Robert Orsi, Leigh Eric Schmidt, and Kathryn Lofton, who all expertly wed ethnography to deep historical inquiry, Rabin allows the reader to understand the human contours of Jewish life in motion. -- Lila Corwin Berman,Temple UniversityJews on the Frontier is one of the most significant contributions in years to the study of nineteenth-century American Judaism with vast implications for students of American religion generally. An eye-opening and creative study of how mobility shaped distinctive patterns of religious life. -- Jonathan D. Sarna,author of American Judaism: A HistoryRabin’s religious studies scholarship differs from the typical histories of both American Jews in particular and Jewish history more broadly… [her] scholarship attends to place and space, nature, and infrastructure, and it also analyzes national particulars without being fully bounded by them. * Journal of Religion *The book can be read as a contribution to a number of fields ... Rabin has demonstrated convincingly the significance of mobility and thus space in the history of American Judaism and so has pointed the way for other scholars to do the same in the history of American religion more broadly. * American Religion *American Judaism is often treated as a more recent phenomenon, with much of the scholarly focus going to the communities that emerged in the wake of the new immigration era in the 1880s through the 1920s, yet Jews have continuously resided in what would become the United States since 1654. Jews on the Frontier breaks away from this traditional view to explore how Jews engaged with their Judaism while living outside of major Jewish communities. Jews on the Frontier is a compelling book about the process of Jews adapting to American life during the nineteenth century. [This book] serves to fill in chronological and geographical gaps in the current Jewish historical scholarship. * H-Borderlands *Jews on the Frontier is a compelling book about the process of Jews adapting to American life during the nineteenth century...[It] serves to fill in chronological and geographical gaps in the current Jewish historical scholarship. -- H-Net Reviews * H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2018 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in Textual Studies, presented by the American Academy of Religion 2018 Outstanding Academic Title, given by Choice MagazineA new perspective on the role of religion in the work of Langston HughesLangston's Salvation offers a fascinating exploration into the religious thought of Langston Hughes. Known for his poetry, plays, and social activism, the importance of religion in Hughes' work has historically been ignored or dismissed. This book puts this aspect of Hughes work front and center, placing it into the wider context of twentieth-century American and African American religious cultures. Best brings to life the religious orientation of Hughes work, illuminating how this powerful figure helped to expand the definition of African American religion during this time. Best argues that contrary to popular perception, Hughes was neither an avowed atheist nor unconcerned with religious matters. He demonstrates that Hughes' relTrade Review"As Wallace Best portrays him in this stunning, brilliantly argued and written work, Langston Hughes is a poet and prophet who spoke to the deepest dilemmas of African American Christianity in the uncompromising language of religious and artistic modernism. The road to Langstons salvation was not straight, and as he charts its course over time, Best enlarges the field of American religious history and the meaning of modern 'religion' itself." -- Robert A. Orsi,Professor of Religious Studies and History, Northwestern"Inspired by his expert knowledge both of African American (and American) religion in general and Langston Hughes in particular, Wallace D. Best offers us here a bold, novel, complex, and yet highly persuasive reassessment of this marvelous writer's mind and art. Professor Best's book is the product of exhaustive research and scrupulous reasoning. The result is probably the most exciting study of Hughesand of the modern, essentially urban interplay between religion and literature epitomized in Hughess workthat we have seen in many a year." -- Arnold Rampersad,Stanford University, author of The Life of Langston Hughes"Taking its point of departure from young Langston Hughess conversion experience in Kansas that he later described as one of three key moments in his life, Langstons Salvation gives the reader a full and cogent analysis of the central importance of religion in Hughess œuvre, extending from the spiritual themes in his early poems to the 'gospel years' surrounding Tambourines of Glory, and including even Hughess most controversial poem, 'Goodbye Christ.' Based on much archival research and a full examination of the vast secondary literature going back to Benjamin Mays and Jean Wagner, Wallace Best offers a reconsideration of Hughess often prescient thinking about religion and shows compellingly that Hughess work was, at the very least, 'not anti-religious,' as Hughes himself put it." -- Werner Sollors,Henry B. and Anne M. Research Professor of English, Harvard University"With close readings of Langston Hughes's poetry and with finely tuned arguments about the place of religion during the early twentieth century, Wallace Best provides what none has offered before: he shows the beautiful mind of Langston Hughes as a 'thinker about religion.'Langston's Salvation heralds a new day, perhaps even a renaissance, not only in the study Hughes and his poetry, but also of liberal religion in the United States. It is impossible to read Langston's Salvation and fail to wonder what other great writers of the past have to offer if we follow Best's lead and approach them as thinkers about religion. This book is like Hughes's poetry: an invitation to see more than what's on the surface." -- Edward J. Blum,author of W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet"Meticulously researched from an interdisciplinary perspective, with attention to the frameworks of religious studies, history, literary criticism, and African American studies,Langston's Salvationis an indispensable guide to Hughes and religion." * Choice *"[A] meticulous account of Hughess religious provocations in his literary work...Offering astounding historical and literary analysis to some of his widely popular and some of his lesser -known works such as The Negro Speaks of Rivers andTambourines to Gloryrespectively, Best explicates Hughess works to explore the religious orientation in his writings." * Black Perspectives *"Best weaves together the varied and often controversial strands of Hughes's lifean unsuccessful religious conversion, progressive politics, and an intriguing but doomed trip to Russia to create a filmin order to paint a more complete picture of a nonconformist and his modern relationship with religion. . . a well-researched argument that offers a vivid perspective on a literary giant." * Publishers Weekly *"Langstons Salvation provides thorough details of Hughess transition from a young poet to one who used his message of change and enlightenment in written and spoken form. Best gives an intense perspective of his championing of race issues and quest for religious understanding. Its a great book for delving more deeply into the meaning of his works." * Reading Religion *"Best’s scrupulously researched, clearly written, and well-argued book is an important contribution to the field of African American religious history." * Journal of African American History *"Best offers a theologically informed reading of Hughes, making the book useful for general audiences and scholars of religion who hope to explore the under-analyzed religious themes in Hughes’s work." * Religious Studies Review *

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Book Synopsis2017 Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in Jewish Literature and LinguisticsHonorable Mention, 2016 Baron Book Prize presented by AAJRA monster tour of the Golem narrative across various cultural and historical landscapesIn the 1910s and 1920s, a golem cult swept across Europe and the U.S., later surfacing in Israel. Why did this story of a powerful clay monster molded and animated by a rabbi to protect his community become so popular and pervasive? The golem has appeared in a remarkable range of popular media: from the Yiddish theater to American comic books, from German silent film to Quentin Tarantino movies. This book showcases how the golem was remolded, throughout the war-torn twentieth century, as a muscular protector, injured combatant, and even murderous avenger. This evolution of the golem narrative is made comprehensible by, and also helps us to better understand, one of the defining aspects of the last one hundred years: mass warfare and its ancillary technologies. In the twentiTrade ReviewBarzilai makes a bold even brilliant connection between . . . the golem and . . . the soldier. * Times Literary Supplement *[Barzilai] wisely decides to focus on . . . golem representations in response to war and other mass violence. Barzilais extensive research and clear, interesting style make this a fine work. * Publishers Weekly *The multiple strands ofGolemare what constitute its great strength, presented not just chronologically but within themes that cross eras and borders Barzilai painstakingly analyses films, books and comics to reveal the Golems enduring cultural presence and influence. And the violence of this appealing creature, especially the idea of Jewish violence, is what makes it simultaneously so threatening. * Jewish Chronicle *A thorough and suggestive review . . .with a wide array of 20th-century sources, including films and cartoon literature. It will be a useful resource for those interested in modern history and culture. * Choice *Barzilai offers a fascinating analysis of how a legendary monster was appropriated in the last century as a way of understanding the baffling reality of war. . . . A creative and thoughtful approach, this book raises the deeper and unresolved questions of when, if ever, an act of violence justifies a violent response. Although Barzilai does not attempt to answer this question, she raises it as one of the unavoidable issues faced by an oppressed people who, in their fiction, have access to a protective monster. * Reading Religion *Fascinating and well argued, Golemexamines the modern incarnations of the old Jewish myth, tracking its many meanings as it crosses between generations and cultures, from the muddy trenches of WWI to the killing fields of science fiction. An indispensable text for anyone looking to understand our ongoing fascination with the golem figure, in all its malleable forms. -- Helene Wecker,author of The Golem & the JinniIn her wide-ranging Golem: Modern Wars and Their Monsters, Maya Barzilai argues that the myth of the golem tells us something about humanity more generally. It teaches us about what she calls 'the golem condition,' inwhich 'the fantasies of expanding our capacities and transgressing our natural boundaries are always curbed by the inborn limitations of human existence.' * Jewish Review of Books *This tracking of the adaptations of the Golem myth from World War I to the present becomes a probing cultural history of the past hundred years. Maya Barzilai moves with assurance from fiction, theater, and film to comic books and graphic novels, perceptively commenting on their formal aspects while preserving a lucid sense of the relevant historical contexts. This is a splendid piece of critical reflection. -- Robert Alter,University of California, BerkeleyBarzilai certainly puts her finger on a central paradox of European and Jewish culture coming out of the Great War: how can death and technological creativity coexist? The golem myth is a clever and successful way to probe that question. . . . Fascinating and intellectually venturesome. -- Alan Mintz,Chana Kekst Professor of Jewish Literature, The Jewish Theological SeminarySavior, soldier, demon, oafa golem is all these and more, and Barzilai guides us a fascinating tour of its supple mythology through shifting cultural and historical contexts. -- Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman,authors of The Golem of ParisGolem: Modern Wars and their Monstersis highly recommended to those with an interest in the intersection between Jewish tradition and pop culture, as well as anyone with a focus on monster and twentieth century cultural studies. * The Journal of Religion and Culture *As Barzilai notes that future wars will likely be characterized by growing dependence on golem-like entities—whether drones or cyborgs or robots equipped with artificial intelligence—her book provides a timely meditation on the human effects of remote and automated violence. * Political and Legal Anthropology Review *

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Book SynopsisIn exploring the diverse functions of signs outside of the realm of the written word, this book introduces unfamiliar sources and motifs from the formative age of Judaism, including magical and divination texts and new interpretations of legends and midrashim from classical rabbinic literature.Trade Review"Recommended [for] libraries in general, especially those supporting Jewish studies, [as well as] upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty, [and] general readers." * CHOICE *"In this remarkably concise, yet massively researched, volume, Michael Swartz lays the historical and hermeneutical foundations for a massive revision of the idea of late antique Judaism as an essentially text- and logocentric intellectual tradition. His elegantly written argument will challenge scholars--and, one hopes, their students--for years to come!" -- Martin S. Jaffee,University of Washington"With gestures to the music of John Cage and the meaning of fashion, Michael Swartz explores the manifold ways that ancient Jews believed God could speak through worldly things: animals and dreams, zodiac and temple, priestly vestments and the flowing of blood. Using such diverse sources as ancient synagogue mosaics and liturgical poetry, Swartz shows with economy and insight that formative Judaism looked well beyond the Torah to find divine intention." -- David Frankfurter,Boston UniversityTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Outside the Text 2. Myths of Creation 3. The Semiotics of the Priestly Vestments 4. Divination and Its Discontents 5. Bubbling Blood and Rolling Bones 6. Conclusions: The Signifying Creator Notes Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisUncovers what the sociology of religion would look like had it emerged in a Confucian, Muslim, or Native American culture rather than in a Christian oneSociology has long used Western Christianity as a model for all religious life. As a result, the field has tended to highlight aspects of religion that Christians find important, such as religious beliefs and formal organizations, while paying less attention to other elements. Rather than simply criticizing such limitations, James V. Spickard imagines what the sociology of religion would look like had it arisen in three non-Western societies. What aspects of religion would scholars see more clearly if they had been raised in Confucian China? What could they learn about religion from Ibn Khaldun, the famed 14th century Arab scholar? What would they better understand, had they been born Navajo, whose traditional religion certainly does not revolve around beliefs and organizations? Through these thought experiments, Spickard shows how non-Trade ReviewSpickards endeavor is a worthy one and his execution of it is well done. * Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion *This book demonstrates how sociological thinking can be colored by global contexts and helps to render the broad, global sociological realities visible. Such a revitalized sociological tool kit enables sociologists on both sides of the Atlantic to engage in intellectual engineering and build upon critical sociological theory relevant in their respective contexts and milieus. -- Afe Adogame,Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Christianity and Society, Princeton Theological Seminary"In the last decade there have been a number of highly visible critiques of the Christian and Protestant base of US sociology of religion. James V. Spickard, with his many ties to European sociology of religion, breaks out of the insularity of US research. His deep immersion in nonwestern thought also bears fruit in this text. It is a significant contribution to an ongoing conversation about how research on religion needs to change. -- Mary Jo Neitz,Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, University of MissouriAlternative Sociologies of Religion is beautifully writtenclear, articulate, and frequently passionate and engaging. Spickards arguments all command considerable merit and attention. His alternative program for teaching and research will help to refashion more conventional sociologies of religion. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Alternative Sociologiesis a refreshing contribution from one of the fields respected scholars. James Spickards long career and varied experiences as a field researcher and consummate teacher shine through on every page. His dissatisfaction with and hope for the future of sociology of religion energizes his quest to find concepts to move the discipline forward. * Nova Religio *James Spickard’s new book is a contribution to the round of reflection that has been happening in the sociology of religion over the past decade … His push to look at what intellectuals in other contexts have said about religion is a useful addition to our emphasis on expansion of the scope of empirical study. * Choice *Spickards carefully written, groundbreaking text effectively engages the reader in many thoughtful experiments that offer an intriguing alternative to the state of the discipline as we know it. This book is appropriate for large general collections serving undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. It is also appropriate for collections focusing on sociology, anthropology, and comparative religion. * Catholic Library World *In praise of this analysis, Spickard does a good job of demonstrating how thinking can be stretched so that religion can be examined in those dimensions that past habitual frameworks have undervalued, missed, ignored, or not been able to see. * American Journal of Sociology *Spickards book offers a challenge to traditional sociological epistemology. It will be of interest to anyone interested in contemporary sociological theory of the study of religion. * Reading Religion *I [University of Georgia Religion Professor David Smilde] strongly sympathize with [Spickards] efforts to use comparative research to enrich the sociology of religion. * Sociology of Religion *

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Book SynopsisWinner, 2019 Saul Viener Book Prize, given by the American Jewish Historical SocietyA groundbreaking history of the practice of Jewish name changing in the 20th century, showcasing just how much is in a nameOur thinking about Jewish name changing tends to focus on clichés: ambitious movie stars who adopted glamorous new names or insensitive Ellis Island officials who changed immigrants' names for them. But as Kirsten Fermaglich elegantly reveals, the real story is much more profound. Scratching below the surface, Fermaglich examines previously unexplored name change petitions to upend the clichés, revealing that in twentieth-century New York City, Jewish name changing was actually a broad-based and voluntary behavior: thousands of ordinary Jewish men, women, and children legally changed their names in order to respond to an upsurge of antisemitism. Rather than trying to escape their heritage or pass as non-Jewish, most name-changers remained active mTrade ReviewFermaglichs thoroughly researched book delves into many implications of changing ones name and examines the way that Jewish culture was shaped overall by the practice. * Jewish Exponent *An important history . . . Well-written and thoroughly documented . . . demonstrates the struggle that individuals underwent to become fully realized as Jewish Americans. Highly recommended. * STARRED Library Journal *Fascinating . . . A fine contribution to an important, previously underexplored area of American Jewish identity and social history. * Publishers Weekly *Fermaglich's thorough research and bright insights produce a provocative account of a seldom-explored cultural phenomenon. * Kirkus Reviews *The real history behind Jewish name changing in the US . . . a worthy accomplishment. One doesn't have to be a . . . historian to appreciate A Rosenberg by Any Other Name . . . anyone with an interest in the subject matter [can] enjoy it. * Foreword Reviews *Kirsten Fermaglich’s insightful book explores the seemingly ordinary phenomenon of Jewish name changing to shed light on broad themes of racial and ethnic identity, and the complicated ways that Americans—and particularly American Jews—negotiated the markers of distinctiveness and racial “otherness” with the goals of integration and access... While only a minority of Jews petitioned to change their names, the phenomenon proves to be an instructive window for examining the changing boundaries of race and ethnicity in America. -- The Journal of American HistoryBoth entertaining and enlightening, A Rosenberg By Any Other Name comes up smelling, well, like a rose. -- Canadian Jewish NewsContesting longstanding stereotypes, Fermaglich (history and Jewish studies, Michigan State Univ.) creatively examines name changing by Jews in the US, focusing on New York City Jews. From the onset of her study, Fermaglich refutes the notion that name changing was an individual or isolated act, asserting that it dramatically impacted American Jewish culture. -- CHOICEThe beauty of A Rosenberg by Any Other Name lies in its choice of a site so rife with potential and yet, one that seems so utterly banal. Fermaglich offers us new appreciation for the levels of complexity that Jewish identity was forced to take on in post-war America. It is a powerful story about anti-semitism, adaptation, markers of identity, and the kinds of choices and sacrifices that people must make in the name of access, privilege, and commitments to their communities. -- Deborah Dash Moore,author of Jewish New York: The Remarkable Story of a City and a People

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Book SynopsisAn overview in primary documents of almost four hundred years of the American Catholic experience Among the first European explorers of the Americas, Catholics have a long and rich history in the United States. In this collection of significant letters, diaries, theological reflections, and other primary documents, the voices of Catholics in this country reveal what they have thought, believed, feared, and dreamed. American Catholic History spans the earliest missionary voyages in the sixteenth century, to the present day, illuminating the complex history, beliefs, and practices of what has become North American Roman Catholicism. In an engaging and accessible style, the brief introductions to each text provide historical and biographical context and illuminate broad themes in the development of the American Catholic tradition. From Catholicism's encounters with new frontiers to its long-time position outside mainstream culture, and from its intellectual life and political engagement tTrade Review"The documents collected in the first edition topped the list of best resources for teaching the diversity and complexity of US Catholic history, and now this revised edition is even better. From mission manager Eulalia Pérez in California in the 1800s to Pope Francis addressing Congress in 2015, the varied voices summon an astonishing story of solace and conflict in the Roman church, in the American nation, and in the human heart." -- Julie Byrne,author of The Other Catholics: Remaking America’s Largest Religion""This updated and revised edition is the go-to primary source reader to assign for any and all undergraduate and graduate-level courses on American Catholicism. Drs. Massa and Osborne have done a tremendous job curating a wide array of essential readings for scholars and students of Catholicism. This book fills an important niche in American Catholic Studies and is essential reading for scholars and students alike. " -- Kristy Nabhan-Warren,Professor and V.O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Chair of Catholic Studies, The University of Iowa"The newly added documents better represent diverse viewpoints, e.g., those of African American Catholics and Spanish-speaking Catholics." * Choice *"American Catholic History: A Documentary Reader included 70 documents that provided key insights into the lived experience of Catholics[Editors] Mark Massa, S.J. and Catherine Osborne recently released an updated edition of the reader that carries the American Catholic story forward an additional two decades." * US Catholic Journal *"Mark Massa and Catherine Osborne have created a valuable resource for teachers and scholars of American Catholicism. This documentary reader, first published in 2008, has 34 new documents. Once more it achieves a rare feat for its genre: the editors have been comprehensive, creative, suggestive, and provocative. Scholars would do well to pick up the volume for its stimulating reflections on the field of Catholic Studies. Teachers, of course, will find a wide range of documents capable of prompting discussion and a series of introductions that help students become the scholars." * Church History and Religious Culture *

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Book SynopsisWinner, 2018 Paul J. Foik Award for Best Book on Catholic History in the American Southwest, presented by the Texas Catholic Historical Society The remarkable history of the Santuario de Chimayó, the church whose world-renowned healing powers have drawn visitors to its steps for centuries. Nestled in a valley at the feet of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, the Santuario de Chimayó has been called the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in America. To experience the Santuario's miraculous healing dirt, pilgrims and visitors first walk into the cool, adobe church, proceeding up an aisle to the altar with its magnificent crucifix. They then turn left to enter a low-slung room filled with cast-off crutches, a statue of the Santo Niño de Atocha, and photos of thousands of people who have been prayed for in the exact spot they are standing. An adjacent room, stark by contrast, contains little but a hole in the floor, known as the pocito. From this well in the earth, the SantTrade ReviewDetailed and well researched, the work is a solid and intriguing look at the history of the Santuario and the construction of the Santuario as central to the ways we imagine and understand the continuing fascination and allure of Northern New Mexico. * H-Net Reviews *The challenge Hendrickson raises in his book engages questions relating to border territories, religion, and tourism as reflected in the santuario … The Healing Power of the Santuario de Chimay´o reclaims the unique political and religious heritage of Nuevomexicanos—rather than Hispanics, Latinos, or Mexican Americans—that has been overlooked by both academics and leaders in the Roman Catholic Church. Hendrickson believes that a greater awareness and respect for the santurario’s historical position “as one of the most important religious sites in North America” can help reframe discussions about the complex history of Christianity in the United States today (5). The book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of Chicano studies, religious studies, and U.S. history. Lay leaders and clerics within the Roman Catholic Church and Hispanic/Latino community will also find the book valuable. Finally, any individual broadly interested in the intersection of religion and politics on the border will appreciate the colorful history Brett Hendrickson presents -- Nova ReligioHendrickson shows us that theorizing while neglecting historical data is as much a claim of ownership of whatever we are studying as are the projections of the various groups that claim Chimayo for their own. Good advice. * Sociology of Religion *A rich and multidimensional study. Hendricksons approach to the remarkably understudied pilgrimage site of Chimayó is nuanced with historical and contemporary perspectives. This case study greatly illuminates the history of New Mexico and will become a go-to book for students of religion in the borderlands. -- Roberto Lint Sagarena,Middlebury CollegeIn this tenderly and often profoundly written book, Brett Hendrickson unpacks the overlapping claims to religious ownership that locals, church leaders, pilgrims, tourists, and sometimes scholars make to the Santuario de Chimayó, a place layered with experiences of miraculous dirt and shaped by the legacies of competing empires. This is a story that needed to be told, and Hendrickson shows how it resonates far beyond the borders and borderlands of New Mexico. -- Tisa Wenger,author of We Have a Religion

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIlluminating. Insightful. Challenging. We all know World War II forced the U.S. to rely on an ideology of pluralism and harmony. Jessica Coopermans timely and nuanced study traces the origin of this inclusive language to World War I, as religious minorities, and most especially American Jews, fought for first-class status and a seat at the table. She also shows the costs of that inclusion and the shaping of a certain kind of American Jewry. Her study of the structural changes hoisted upon the U.S. military by American Jews is a must-read for people interested in American pluralism, American religious life, and the costs and benefits of fitting in to the American ideal. -- Kevin M. Schultz, author ,Tri-Faith AmericaIn this perceptive book, Jessica Cooperman highlights the important role of the National Jewish Welfare Board, and shows how ideas about pluralism shaped both Judaism and American religion generally during the tumultuous World War I era. A valuable contribution! -- Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History,Brandeis University and author of American Judaism: A HistoryThe idea of a 'tri-faith' America did not become part of the American civic consensus until after World War II, when it was popularized by the Jewish thinker Will Herberg, but, as Cooperman shows, it began much earlier.” * The Jewish Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisBiography: Neusner is a social commentator, a post-Holocaust theologian, and an outspoken political figure. Jacob Neusner (born 1932) is one of the most important figures in the shaping of modern American Judaism. He was pivotal in transforming the study of Judaism from an insular project only conducted byand of interest toreligious adherents to one which now flourishes in the secular setting of the university. He is also one of the most colorful, creative, and difficult figures in the American academy. But even those who disagree with Neusner's academic approach to ancient rabbinic texts have to engage with his pioneering methods. In this comprehensive biography, Aaron Hughes shows Neusner to be much more than a scholar of rabbinics. He is a social commentator, a post-Holocaust theologian, and was an outspoken political figure during the height of the cultural wars of the 1980s. Neusner's life reflects the story of what happened as Jews migrated to the suburbs in the late 1940s, darinTrade Review"In this respectfully balanced biography, Hughes explores the life of Jacob Neusner, a renowned scholar of Judaism and a controversial figure in the American academy...The author presents an interesting and widely accessible life story that should appeal to readers interested in American Judaism, Jewish studies, or the academy itself." * Kirkus Reviews *"InJacob Neusner: An American Jewish Iconoclast, religious studies scholar Aaron Hughes has written an insightful biography of a different kind of academic." * H-Net Reviews *"A lively and readable account of the life of a fascinating figure who more than deserves a biography." -- Religious Studies Review"Even those who disagree with Hughes's conclusions, however, will learn from Jacob Neusner. Well written and well researched, the volume serves as a valuable first step in understanding one of the most significant religion scholars of the past generation." * Journal of Religion *"Aaron Hughes has written a comprehensive, compelling, and candid intellectual portrait of Jacob Neusner and his unparalleled lifetime of achievements. By detailing the original and vital contributions Neusner has made to Judaic and Religious Studies as well as to modern religious and political thought, Hughes has succeeded brilliantly in highlighting the singular significance Neusner holds as an academic, as a religious thinker, and as a public intellectual. Hughes has given his readers a captivating intellectual biography to savor!" -- David Ellenson,Chancellor Emeritus and former President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion"Aaron Hughess chronicle deftly displays the development and impact of Jacob Neusners intellectual achievements and the academic, political, and cultural contexts from which they emerged. With clarity and concision, this book limns the key issuessome of which are complex and reconditethat shaped the study of Judaism when Neusners career began and shows how his innovative, independent, and transformative scholarship created a contemporary academic field." -- William Scott Green,University of Miami"Not only is Jacob Neusner a much needed, long awaited biography of perhaps the most important American Jewish thinker of the mid to late twentieth century, but it offers a window into the creation of Jewish studies in the American academy. Aaron Hughes illuminates Neusners pathbreaking role in the construction of Judaic studies scholarship as we now know it. More than this, he presents a balanced account of Neusner the radical, innovative, compelling and rambunctious scholar and Neusner the conservative political activist and public intellectual. Drawing connections between Neusners demanding and volatile personality and his extraordinary brilliance and productivity, Hughes sheds much needed light on this luminary. This is a concise book about excess that covers so much of what made Jacob Neusner, 'Neusner'!" -- Laura S. Levitt,Temple University

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Book SynopsisA remarkable history of the powerful and influential social gospel movement. The global crises of child labor, alcoholism and poverty were all brought to our attention through the social gospel movement. Its impact on American society makes it one of the most influential developments in American religious history. Christopher H. Evans traces the development of the social gospel in American Protestantism, and illustrates how the religious idealism of the movement also rose up within Judaism and Catholicism. Contrary to the works of previous historians, Evans demonstrates how the presence of the social gospel continued in American culture long after its alleged demise following World War I. Evans reveals the many aspects of the social gospel and their influence on a range of social movements during the twentieth century, culminating with the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. It also explores the relationship between the liberal social gospel of the early twentieth century andTrade Review"Evans has made an important contribution both in his excellent explanation of the origins and nature of the social gospel and his strong case for seeing its influence extending well into the twentieth century. In doing so, Evans writes primarily about individual social gospel figures, many of them well-known, others not as prominent, including women and African American ministers or reformers. His brief discussions of these figures are the heart and the strength of the book." -- Church History and Religious Culture"Christopher Evans has broken the Social Gospel out of the theological and ecclesial boxes that have been used to contain and domesticate its message. In The Social Gospel in American Religion readers will appreciate the true scope of the Social Gospel witness for over the last century and recognize its prophetic relevance and urgent resonance for today's broken world in need of Good News." -- Rev. Paul Raushenbush,Senior Vice-President for Public Engagement, Auburn Seminary"Christopher Evans has done it again. In this finely-crafted study one of the foremost scholars of the American Social Gospel weaves a story that is at once breathtaking in scope and full of subtle analysis. Anyone interested in the vital intersection of religion and reform in modern United States history will want to read this book." -- Heath W. Carter,author of Union Made: Working People and the Rise of Social Christianity in Chicago"Evans provides a new and much needed history of one of Americas most important religious movements. With seeds planted during the Second Great Awakening, the fruits of the Social Gospel extend to the end of the 20th century, and, in ironic ways, even into our own time. Evans tells the story of a long Social Gospelfrom before the Civil War to after Civil Rights to Barack Obama. This book should become, in short order, the standard history of the Social Gospel." -- Barry Hankins,Professor of History, Baylor University"Few subjects in American religious history invite interdisciplinary inquiries and readerships as much as does the Social Gospel. In the formal sense, it could be confined to a narrative of liberal American Protestantism c. 19001920. But, in the telling of Evans, its story begins a century earlier and, associated with new names, continues its reach into the present. Readers who have interests in the ethics of social reform, liberal theology and its opposition, African-American and feminist studies, rhetorical analyses of popular preaching, straight-out sociology, and the larger American historical contexts of movements and emphases like the Social Gospel will find reason to read this book with care." -- Martin E. Marty * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *"In recounting the social gospels full story, Evans fights off caricatures of the movement from the neo-orthodox left and defends the social gospel against appropriations by the religious right. The end result is a well-written and insightful addition to the intellectual history of social Christianity in America." -- Mark T. Edwards,Fides et Historia

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Book SynopsisTraces the development of Catholic cultures in the South, the Midwest, the West, and the Northeast, and their contribution to larger patterns of Catholicism in the United StatesMost histories of American Catholicism take a national focus, leading to a homogenization of American Catholicism that misses much of the local complexity that has marked how Catholicism developed differently in different parts of the country. Such histories often treat northeastern Catholicism, such as the Irish Catholicism of Boston, as if it reflects the full history and experience of Catholicism across the United States. The Making of American Catholicism argues that regional and transnational relationships have been central to the development of American Catholicism. The American Catholic experience has diverged significantly among regions; if we do not examine how it has taken shape in local cultures, we miss a lot. Exploring the history of Catholic cultures in New Orleans, Iowa, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, Trade Review"This well-researched book offers a compelling argument for the importance of regional, transnational, and local realities in understanding the history of U.S. Catholicism." -- Steven M. Avella, Marquette University"An insightfully transnational study that assesses how factors such as the colonial legacies of French and Hispanic Catholic settlers, the homelands of European immigrants, and the international cult of Marian apparitions shaped Catholic communities that rooted themselves in particular times and places." -- Timothy Matovina, author of Theologies of Guadalupe: From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis"Pfeifer’s work shifts the focus from the traditional centers of the Northeast and industrial urban Midwest to places like New Orleans, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles. In the process, Catholics of different ethnicities, race, and transnational ties assume new significance. Even New York's Hell Kitchen Catholicism gains fresh treatment in Pfeifer's rendering. An important book that advances the most exciting contemporary currents in the study of Catholics in the US." -- Anthony B. Smith, The University of Dayton"From New Orleans to Iowa City and from rural Wisconsin to urban California, Michael Pfeifer asks us to think about the local particularities of the American Catholic experience. He shows us how the development of regional cultures played a crucial role in shaping the lives of Catholics from the colonial period to the present." -- Michael Pasquier, author of Religion in America: The Basics"A timely and important book. Pfeifer is an excellent, evocative writer, providing us with a treasure trove of fascinating details of twentieth century lived Catholicism, all the while showing the dynamic blend of transnationalism, regionalism, and nationalism that informs American Catholic identities. A must-read for anyone interested in American religious history." -- Kristy Nabhan-Warren, The University of Iowa"Michael J. Pfeifer’s The Making of American Catholicism: Regional Culture and the Catholic Experience is a fascinating exploration of the intersection of place, culture, time, and identity. In date- and place-bound situations, he surveys themes of contemporary concern (globally, but especially in the United States). Pfeifer’s skill in making connections across seemingly disparate places and events prompts the reader to extend the insights beyond the representative areas specifically addressed in the book." * Reading Religion *"Lucidly written Pfeifer’s book will be a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students, and researchers in religion, politics, and the sociology of the Catholic church in the United States." -- Christopher J. Akor, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa * Religion Book Reviews *

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Book Synopsis2017 Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in Jewish Literature and LinguisticsHonorable Mention, 2016 Baron Book Prize presented by AAJRA monster tour of the Golem narrative across various cultural and historical landscapesIn the 1910s and 1920s, a golem cult swept across Europe and the U.S., later surfacing in Israel. Why did this story of a powerful clay monster molded and animated by a rabbi to protect his community become so popular and pervasive? The golem has appeared in a remarkable range of popular media: from the Yiddish theater to American comic books, from German silent film to Quentin Tarantino movies. This book showcases how the golem was remolded, throughout the war-torn twentieth century, as a muscular protector, injured combatant, and even murderous avenger. This evolution of the golem narrative is made comprehensible by, and also helps us to better understand, one of the defining aspects of the last one hundred years: mass warfare and its ancillary technologies. In the twentiTrade Review"Barzilai makes a bold even brilliant connection between . . . the golem and . . . the soldier." * Times Literary Supplement *"[Barzilai] wisely decides to focus on . . . golem representations in response to war and other mass violence. Barzilais extensive research and clear, interesting style make this a fine work." * Publishers Weekly *"The multiple strands ofGolemare what constitute its great strength, presented not just chronologically but within themes that cross eras and borders Barzilai painstakingly analyses films, books and comics to reveal the Golems enduring cultural presence and influence. And the violence of this appealing creature, especially the idea of Jewish violence, is what makes it simultaneously so threatening." * Jewish Chronicle *"A thorough and suggestive review . . .with a wide array of 20th-century sources, including films and cartoon literature. It will be a useful resource for those interested in modern history and culture." * Choice *"Barzilai offers a fascinating analysis of how a legendary monster was appropriated in the last century as a way of understanding the baffling reality of war. . . . A creative and thoughtful approach, this book raises the deeper and unresolved questions of when, if ever, an act of violence justifies a violent response. Although Barzilai does not attempt to answer this question, she raises it as one of the unavoidable issues faced by an oppressed people who, in their fiction, have access to a protective monster." * Reading Religion *"Fascinating and well argued, Golemexamines the modern incarnations of the old Jewish myth, tracking its many meanings as it crosses between generations and cultures, from the muddy trenches of WWI to the killing fields of science fiction. An indispensable text for anyone looking to understand our ongoing fascination with the golem figure, in all its malleable forms." -- Helene Wecker,author of The Golem & the Jinni"In her wide-ranging Golem: Modern Wars and Their Monsters, Maya Barzilai argues that the myth of the golem tells us something about humanity more generally. It teaches us about what she calls 'the golem condition,' inwhich 'the fantasies of expanding our capacities and transgressing our natural boundaries are always curbed by the inborn limitations of human existence.'" * Jewish Review of Books *"This tracking of the adaptations of the Golem myth from World War I to the present becomes a probing cultural history of the past hundred years. Maya Barzilai moves with assurance from fiction, theater, and film to comic books and graphic novels, perceptively commenting on their formal aspects while preserving a lucid sense of the relevant historical contexts. This is a splendid piece of critical reflection." -- Robert Alter,University of California, Berkeley"Barzilai certainly puts her finger on a central paradox of European and Jewish culture coming out of the Great War: how can death and technological creativity coexist? The golem myth is a clever and successful way to probe that question. . . . Fascinating and intellectually venturesome." -- Alan Mintz,Chana Kekst Professor of Jewish Literature, The Jewish Theological Seminary"Savior, soldier, demon, oafa golem is all these and more, and Barzilai guides us a fascinating tour of its supple mythology through shifting cultural and historical contexts." -- Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman,authors of The Golem of Paris"Golem: Modern Wars and their Monstersis highly recommended to those with an interest in the intersection between Jewish tradition and pop culture, as well as anyone with a focus on monster and twentieth century cultural studies." * The Journal of Religion and Culture *"As Barzilai notes that future wars will likely be characterized by growing dependence on golem-like entities—whether drones or cyborgs or robots equipped with artificial intelligence—her book provides a timely meditation on the human effects of remote and automated violence." * Political and Legal Anthropology Review *

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Book SynopsisThe complete story of Jewish Harlem and its significance in American Jewish historyNew York Times columnist David W. Dunlap wrote a decade ago that on the map of the Jewish Diaspora, Harlem Is Atlantis. . . . A vibrant hub of industry, artistry and wealth is all but forgotten. It is as if Jewish Harlem sank 70 years ago beneath waves of memory beyond recall. During World War I, Harlem was the home of the second largest Jewish community in America. But in the 1920s Jewish residents began to scatter to other parts of Manhattan, to the outer boroughs, and to other cities. Now nearly a century later, Jews are returning uptown to a gentrified Harlem. The Jews of Harlem follows Jews into, out of, and back into this renowned metropolitan neighborhood over the course of a century and a half. It analyzes the complex set of forces that brought several generations of central European, East European, and Sephardic Jews to settle there. It explains the dynamics that led Jews to exit this part of GoTrade Review"This well-written volume makes clear that the Harlem Jewish community significantly influenced American Jewry as a whole . . . This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of American Judaism." * Publishers Weekly *"What stays with you long after you have finished [The Jews of Harlem] is Gurock's steadfast devotion to his subject." * Jewish Review of Books *"The Jews of Harlem skillfully traces Jewish Harlem from its tentative beginnings to the years when Jewish life there rivaled that of the Lower East Side, and from the massive migration elsewhere to the community's even more tentative reemergence today. It's an important piece of American Jewish history." * Segula Magazine *"Nearly forty years after the publication of his first monograph,When Harlem Was Jewish, 18701930(1979), Jeffrey S. Gurock has returned to Harlem, revisiting the story of the Jewish communitys beginnings in the 1870s and 1880s, its heyday in the early twentieth century, and its rapid decline after World War I, and adding something that seemed unlikely in the 1970s: the return of Jews to the neighborhood." * The American Historical Review *"Athoughtful and comprehensive history of Jewish Harlem." * American Jewish Archives Journal *"The studies by Gurock are very valuable not only for anyone interested in American Jewish history, but they also make a significant contribution to other fields. Scholars and general readership who are interested in the history of New York, as well as urban history in general and African American history, will find Gurock's volume an indispensable addition to those fields." * American History *"The Jews of Harlem is a masterful work of scholarship that further concretizes Jeffrey Gurock's position as a preeminent academic practitioner. In parallel, it offers the reader a unique perspective from which to witness transitions in American Judaism, as well as the way one of its prime chroniclers interfaces with the story he tells." * Journal of Religion *"Gurock traces anew the history of Jewish Harlem, a subject he first explored in When Harlem Was Jewish, 1870-1930. While the earlier work told the story of an important, but largely forgotten, community, this well-written, comprehensive study examines a neighborhood whose history "is not over, but rather a work in progress"... this book is not merely a localized case study, but one that has great significance for Jewish American as a whole." * Journal of American Ethnic History *"Jeffrey Gurock is the historian of Jewish Harlem, but he is also its anthropologist and sociologist. He chronicles the fortunes of this storied neighborhood treasured by blacks and Jews and now home to both groups with the fresh-eyed relish of an explorer discovering a new land yet with the authority of an old-timer intimately familiar with every block and alley. He has populated his fascinating tale of Jewish Harlem's development, decline, and resurgence not just with events and institutions but with flesh and blood people who bring the community to vivid life." -- Joseph Berger,author of The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidim and Their Battles with America"Jeffrey Gurock offers an evocative account of the evolution of Jewish Harlem. This book is a 'must read' for anyone interested in race, religion, and culture in New York's ever-changing neighborhood." -- Beth S. Wenger,Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania"No one knows the history of the Jews in Harlem as well as Jeffrey S. Gurock, and this latest book recounts in wonderful detail not only their move uptown from the Lower East Side early in the 20th century, but their important role in the revival of the neighborhood in the 21st century. The Jews of Harlem is engagingly written and persuasively argued, and it will soon be recognized as a classic account of community change in a contested environment." -- Kenneth T. Jackson,Barzun Professor of History, Columbia University""Jeffrey Gurock has done it again! His well-crafted narrative presents a convincing history of Parkchesters transition from a whites-only melting pot to a complex and racially diverse alternative to suburbia. Gurock raises significant questions that are persuasively answered by his solid research and clear-eyed analysis. His chapters throb with real life tensions and controversies, and finally with lessons about how reason and comity ultimately can prevail over intolerance. " -- Thomas Kessner,The Graduate Center, City University of New York"Taking the long view, across the twentieth century and beyond, allows Gurock to show how Harlem’s history encapsulates the ‘crucial variances in fates’ (246) between Jews and African Americans—the former, progressively absorbed into whiteness and middle-class property ownership, while the latter remained in the grip of racial injustices including housing and employment discrimination—as well as the complex, sometimes tense relations between them." * Journal of Modern Jewish Studies *

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Book SynopsisAn introduction to the study of women in diverse religious culturesWhile women have made gains in equality over the past two centuries, equality for women in many religious traditions remains contested throughout the world. In the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints women are not ordained as priests. In areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan under Taliban occupation girls and women students and their teachers risk their lives to go to school. And in Sri Lanka, fully ordained Buddhist nuns are denied the government identity cards that recognize them as citizens. Is it possible to create families, societies, and religions in which women and men are equal? And if so, what are the factors that promote equality?Theory of Women in Religions offers an economic model to shed light on the forces that have impacted the respective statuses of women and men from the earliest developmental stages of society through the present day. CatheTrade ReviewTheory of Women in Religions provides an engaging and incisive examination of gender, power, and culture. As captivating and absorbing as it is thorough, it is a must-read for anyone interested in gender or religion. -- Laura Vance, Brevard CollegeHighlighting fascinating historical and contemporary examples, this book offers a persuasive grand theory of economic development, gender relations and religion. Wessinger has made a substantial contribution to the field of women and religion. -- Susan Sered, Suffolk UniversityA compelling and readable account of the complex relationships between religion and gender by a scholar at the peak of her powers. The wealth and historical breadth of examples that Wessinger amasses is stunning. What sets this book apart is Wessinger’s detailed focus on the psychological and religious factors that perpetuate male dominance and the gradual social and religious revolutions underway as women seek greater equality. Lucidly written and persuasively argued, Theory of Women in Religions should be required reading for students as well as established scholars. -- Kelly E. Hayes, author of Holy Harlots: Femininity, Sexuality, and Black Magic in Brazil

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Book SynopsisIf there is one question that haunts Indian Christians, it is ‘What does it mean to be Indian and Christian?’ This matter of identity presents a unique challenge. This book offers a unique path forward by studying the rise and character of Indian-initiated churches, Christian movements founded by Indians to address Indian issues.Table of Contents Editor's Preface Introduction 1 The Origins of Indian-Initiated Churches 2 Revivals and the Reframing of Indian Christianity 3 The Indian Pentecostal Church of God and The Independence Movement 4 The Bakht Singh Assemblies and the Independence Movement 5 Bhakti Devotion and the Rise of the India Bible Mission 6 Yesu Darbar: Spiritual Power and Popular Hinduism 7 New Life Fellowship: Re-forming the Church in Urban India Conclusion: Christianity Made in India

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Book SynopsisChronicles the history of evangelicalism - its origins and development as well as its diversity and contradictions. Within this lineage Balmer explores the social varieties and political implications of evangelicalism's inception as well as its present and paradoxical relationship with American culture and politics.Trade ReviewAs a self-acknowledged sympathizer with classical Evangelicalism, Balmer laments its fading into a mere shadow of its founding idealism. His choice of final essay indicates that he holds little hope for the future of a religion that uses political power as its main form of self-identity in a land founded on religious freedom. -- Steve A. Wiggins -- Reading ReligionA quick primer for how Evangelicalism became what it is today. -- Steve A. Wiggins -- Reading ReligionFor directors of parish discussion groups, professors teaching undergraduates about American religion looking for an accessible text, or pastors appointed to an ecumenical commission, I'd run out and buy this book. -- Mark Massa, SJ -- Theological StudiesA vital contribution to the study of a movement which itself has made such a vital contribution to the very soul of the United States. -- Joe Super -- Fides Et HistoriaBalmer writes in clear, engaging prose, providing lively and concise portraits of movements and individuals from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. -- Bradley J. Longfield -- Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and TheologyAn entertaining and provocative book by a senior scholar of American evangelicalism. -- Glenn R. Kreider -- Bibliotheca SacraTable of ContentsPreface: Defining American Evangelicalism Chapter 1. An Altogether Conservative Spirit: The First Amendment, Political Stability, and Evangelical Vitality Chapter 2. Turning West: American Evangelicalism and the Restorationist Tradition Chapter 3. Casting Aside the Ballast of History and Tradition: Protestants and the Bible in the Nineteenth Century Chapter 4. An End to Unjust Inequality in the World: The Radical Tradition of Progressive Evangelicalism Chapter 5. Thy Kingdom Come: The Argot of Apocalypticism in American Culture Chapter 6. A Pentecost of Politics: Evangelicals and Public Discourse Chapter 7. A Loftier Position: American Evangelicalism and the Ideal of Femininity Chapter 8. Re-create the Nation: The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth Chapter 9. His Own Received Him Not: Jimmy Carter, the Religious Right, and the 1980 Presidential Election Chapter 10. Keep the Faith and Go the Distance: Promise Keepers, Feminism, and the World of Sports Chapter 11. Dead Stones: The Future of American Protestantism Notes Credits About the Author Index

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Book Synopsis

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