Review by Choice Review
Wolfe (Boston College) believes that American religion is not nearly as fractious as it is perceived to be. Outlining the dramatic changes in American religion over the past five decades, he demonstrates that there is much common ground among religious people of different religions. To that end, he divides his chapters thematically, as, "Worship," "Fellowship," "Doctrine," "Tradition," "Morality," "Sin," "Witness," "Identity," to argue that among Protestants, Catholics, and Jews the prevailing consumer-oriented culture has marketed a kinder, gentler God, and, for the most part, the religious citizenry is buying tolerance. The stark distinctions among traditions, he claims, are less important than how people behave. Wolfe calls his readers to realize that the common perception that American religion is subdivided primarily into institutional and doctrinal separate entities--often at odds with "secular" culture--misses the reality that American religious belief and practice is mostly at home in the world. There is an optimistic tone throughout the book that urges readers to lose their fear of religious "others" by recognizing that adherents across traditions generally are closer in beliefs, morality, and practice than they think. This provocative book is a must-read for a wide variety of readers. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners. A. DeRogatis Michigan State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
The egalitarian individualism that sociologist Wolfe has previously taken as his interpretive key for understanding American morality (Moral Freedom, 2001) now guides him in an exploration of contemporary American religion. In a wide-ranging survey, Wolfe finds that an indulgent individualism is radically redefining religion, undermining churches' ecclesiastical integrity. Though American pews are full, many of the worshipers now pray to a deity placidly tolerant of personal preference and lifestyle convenience. Though most advanced among liberal Protestants, this astonishing erosion of traditional orthodoxy increasingly manifests itself among Catholics and Evangelicals. (Even Old Order Amish are losing their grip on inherited beliefs.) Wolfe acknowledges and scrutinizes strategies for resistance among Orthodoxews, southern Baptists, and Mormons, but he doubts that such strategies will prevent the eventual disappearance of religion as a cultural force. Skeptics may complain that in treating all of America's diverse religions, Wolfe oversimplifies the trend he analyzes. But in his concluding call for renewed dialogue about the role of religion in democracy, Wolfe gives readers good reason to appreciate his perspective on our still-evolving national worship. --Bryce Christensen Copyright 2003 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
We have come to the end of American religion as we once knew it, proclaims sociologist Wolfe. Drawing on interviews with practicing Protestants, Catholics and Jews, Wolfe examines the ways that American religion has been so transformed over the past five decades that it is no longer recognizable. He explores every facet of American religion-worship, fellowship, doctrine, tradition, morality, sin, witness and identity-as he investigates the fading of practices or beliefs that once dominated. For example, he observes that discussion of doctrine has almost disappeared from churches as they have focused more and more on emotional response to worship or belief and less on intellectual investigations of a church's history or creed. Wolfe also points out that the increasing religious pluralism in America has altered not only the faiths traditionally practiced in America but also those of immigrants who bring their religions with them from their native countries. Over the past 40 years, Wolfe argues, American religion has become "more personalized and individualistic, less doctrinal and devotional, more practical and purposeful." Although Wolfe's study offers some lively reporting and clear prose, it provides little new information about the decline of American religion and the newly altered religious landscape. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The director of the Boise Center for Religion and American Public Life (Boston Coll.) and a widely published author, Wolfe documents how religion in the United States is becoming increasingly at home within today's culture. Through interviews, observations, and survey analyses, he provides a rare and valuable look at different religious groups. He describes the practice of mainstream Christians, Jews, Muslims, Adventists, Pentecostals, Mormons, and Buddhists with abundant examples while also taking into account their subgroups like fundamentalists and conservatives. He avoids generalities and provides specific examples that help us better understand the people around us, showing how people have become more comfortable with faith while also becoming more individualistic. One resulting trend is the formation of smaller groups within local religious communities, which encourages more individual expression and sometimes new and even deviant beliefs and practices. But to those who worry about fanaticism, Wolfe writes, "We are all mainstream now." Readers on many levels will be able to comprehend this book, which will be especially appreciated in libraries where several religious cultures live in proximity. Recommended for all libraries.-George Westerlund, formerly with Providence P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Evaluation of the myriad ways American religion and culture affect each other. Wolfe (Religion/Boston College; Moral Freedom, 2001, etc.) traveled around the country attending a wide variety of religious services, interviewing religious professionals and lay persons, and reading as much as he could about American religion by historians, sociologists, psychologists, priests, puritans, and preachers. Beginning with some lines from Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," the author argues that despite such fierce words, even American religions that profess to be fundamentalist or fire-and-brimstone have been forced for survival's sake to integrate into their services and theology some of the very aspects of the secular culture they profess to disdain. Thus so-called "megachurches" feature feel-good rather than fiery sermons, rock 'n' roll (with Christian lyrics, of course) pumped through high-tech sound systems, comfortable seats that resemble those found at your local multiplex, and soccer and aerobics integrated with Jesus and the Gospel. Wolfe does not focus entirely on Christian churches, though his analysis of the decline of so-called "mainline" denominations like the Methodists and Disciples of Christ is most penetrating. He also demonstrates, for example, how Jews and Buddhists and Muslims have modified their religious practices to accommodate Americans and their fondness for personal freedom and for feeling good rather than thinking hard. Although Wolfe attempts to maintain a dispassionate disinterest, he cannot resist preaching himself from time to time, taking a swipe at The Prayer of Jabez ("so narcissistic that it makes prosperity theology look demanding by contrast") and repeating the datum that ten percent of Americans think Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. He urges political liberals and religious conservatives to reconcile, seeing the latter as no real threat to American democracy. Literate and learned revelations about how American society has painted a smiley face on the once-grim visage of old-time religion. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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