Description
Book SynopsisL. Benjamin Rolsky examines the ways in which American liberalism has helped shape cultural conflict since the 1970s through the story of how television writer and producer Norman Lear galvanized the religious left. He foregrounds the roles played by popular culture, television, and media in America’s religious history.
Trade ReviewAn invaluable genealogy of some of the major culture forces that gave rise to contemporary 'spiritual politics' in the U.S. * Reading Religion *
Rolsky’s work is a useful guide to where we’ve been as well as where we might be going; it encourages us to think about what kind of consensus we may be building, and who we might be including and excluding, along the way. * Society for US Intellectual History Blog *
Rise and Fall should garner a wide and varied audience, and it appears intentionally so. It is self-consciously and transparently situated, adeptly self-described in relation to a number of subfields, scholars, and paradigmatic shifts. -- CARA BURNIDGE * Society for U.S. Intellectual History *
Rolsky's study contributes immensely to our understanding of his work at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. -- David Mislin * Church History *
For some who have taken a hiatus from politics and religion,
The Rise and Fall of the Religious Left Politics, Television, and Popular Culture in the 1970s and Beyond by L. Benjamin Rolsky is a must read; a companion to the inevitable upheaval that is on the horizon. If there is one political book that you should read in 2020...it’s this one. -- Eraina Davis * Chicago Now *
Although the religious right looms large in histories of the 1970s, the struggle over religion, politics and culture didn’t unfold only on the right. In this lively and engaging study, Rolsky shows how Norman Lear and People for the American Way advanced a strong spiritual vision of civic life from the left. -- Kevin M. Kruse, author of
One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian AmericaRolsky demonstrates how Norman Lear, the renowned television producer of classic shows like
All in the Family, offers a window into the evolution of the religious left in the 1970s and its complex relationship with the moral majority. A fascinating and intriguing history of the intersection between popular culture, religion, and American politics. -- Julian E. Zelizer, coauthor of
Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974L. Benjamin Rolsky intends to prod and provoke, and he does so through his sophisticated analysis of the effect of Lear’s work. This is a strong, important, and innovative work. The framing of Lear within the 'politics of religious liberalism,' the explanation of the creation and workings of a mainstream Protestantism that saw itself as a sort of caretaker of the nation, and the challenging and intellectually complex thesis pursued here all highly recommend this as an important work that should draw attention, discussion, and debate. -- Paul Harvey, author of
Christianity and Race in the American South: A HistoryThis exceptional, vividly argued book revises the history of religion and politics in the U.S. Rolsky pushes us to see politics as mediated spiritual warfare in which the winner is the one who makes the most accessible entertainment from social outrage. Highly recommended. -- Kathryn Lofton, author of
Consuming ReligionA highly original examination of the role of television in the so-called culture wars of the 1970s . . . Rolsky’s great contribution is to turn our attention to media, especially television, as a site of religious and political contestation. * American Historical Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Religious Liberalism, American Politics, and Public Life
1. Norman Lear, the Christian Right, and the Spiritual Politics of the Religious Left
2.
All in the Family and the Spiritual Politicization of the American Sitcom
3. Norman Lear, the FCC, and the Holy War Over American Television
4. People for the American Way and Spiritual Politics in Late Twentieth-Century America
5. Liberalism as Variety Show:
I Love Liberty and the Decline of the Religious Left
Conclusion: Religion, Politics, and the Public Square—2019
Notes
Bibliography
Index
