Description
Book SynopsisA provocative study in contemporary sociology and the first full-scale account of Roman Catholic fundamentalism, The Smoke of Satan offers new insight into the Catholic Church and explores the nature of religion in society.
Trade ReviewCuneo has given us a witty, even hilarious, and sometimes frightening study of the inner workings, the theological convictions, and the major gripes of three different 'factions' of the Catholic right... Sparkling with irony, he provides his readers with a clear picture of the deep divisions occurring in the right-wing of the Church. America Cuneo uses the Second Vatican Council and the seismic shift it unleashed as a framework for vivid profiles of the Church's unnoticed players-Catholic fundamentalists. His well-researched, eye-opening book shows them to be a fascinating and, at times, bizarre and disturbing subgroup, whom even faithful Catholics would have a hard time embracing. With crisp and concise writing, Cuneo uses colorful anecdotes to shine a light on a mostly unknown part of the church. -- Diego Ribadeneira Boston Globe Here are feverish critics who regard the Catholic bishops as milquetoasts on sexual ethics and abortion. Here are poor souls whose distress over changes in traditional doctrine and liturgy has flowered into true night gardens of conspiracy theory... Cuneo is a sympathetic reporter... but he also reports nuttiness as nuttiness. -- Peter Steinfels New York Times Book Review A winning ethnography. Kirkus Reviews The Smoke of Satan dispels the haze around a world that is unfamiliar to many. Cuneo's book is well worth the time. Fort Worth Star-Telegram The Smoke of Satan is a fascinating look into a series of subcultures within and adjacent to Roman Catholicism-subcultures which are probably unfamiliar to most sociologists and researchers of religion... Cuneo does an excellent job of distinguishing the fundamental differences that separate the world views of each of these groups, as well as the internal factions into which each is fragmented. Sociology of Religion Cuneo is admirably thorough in his investigation of this [Catholic] netherworld. -- Garry Wills New York Review of Books Readers caught by the title of Michael Cuneo's new study of traditional-minded Catholics will not be disappointed. Juicy exposes of strange religious compounds reminiscent of Waco and scholarly inquiries into the cult mentality of modern separatists fill six well-researched chapters... Lurid details of the most bizarre beliefs are recounted, to Cuneo's credit, without sarcasm. Crisis A Fellini-like religious landscape. Trouw Cuneo provides a fascinating glimpse not only into these movements and the attraction they hold for a growing number of Catholics, but also into the appeal that apocalyptic thinking can have for the marginalized and disenfranchised. Millennial Stew Everett Hughes remarked forty years ago that everything, sociologically speaking, has happened in and to Catholicism. Since the Second Vatican Council, it has happened again. Michael Cuneo leaves no doubt about that. -- Andrew Greeley Contemporary Sociology
