Description
Book SynopsisBased on over one hundred interviews with individuals of diverse faith traditions, this book shows how prayer, meditation, and ritual provide foundations for activism. It argues that spirituality plays an important role in the making of activists and has the potential for changing the social order.
Trade ReviewThe intriguing and moving stories told by Stanczak's subjects bring life to his exploration of the ways in which individuals' spiritual experiences shape and sustain their motivations for activist involvement. This hopeful, often inspiring story of faith at work in society should appeal not only to sociologists and religious studies scholars, but also to a more general audience. - Rhys H. Williams, professor of sociology, University of Cincinnati
Table of ContentsBridging the gap: the split between spirituality and society
Biography, behavior, and belief: the sources of spirituality
Acting on faith: social roles in expressing spirituality
Keeping the faith in action: cultivating spiritual practice
Experience and emotion: the influence of spiritual feelings
Degrees of social integration: toward a theory of engaged spirituality
Lived spirituality and the gamut of social action
