The Religious History of American Women: Reimagining the Past [Paperback]

Catherine A. Brekus (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807858005 | ISBN-13: 978-0807858004 | Publication Date: April 23, 2007

More than a generation after the rise of women's history alongside the feminist movement, it is still difficult, observes Catherine Brekus, to locate women in histories of American religion. In this collection of 12 essays, contributors explore how considering the religious history of American women can transform our dominant historical narratives. Covering a variety of topics—including Mormonism, the women's rights movement, Judaism, witchcraft trials, the civil rights movement, Catholicism, everyday religious life, Puritanism, African American women's activism, and the Enlightenment—the volume enhances our understanding of both religious history and women's history. Taken together, these essays sound the call for a new, more inclusive history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

University of Chicago historian Brekus (Strangers and Pilgrims) brings together 12 innovative and engaging essays about women and religion in U.S. history. Several authors treat Catholic women and race: Emily Clark introduces nuns who evangelized slaves in 18th-century New Orleans, and Amy Koehlinger contextualizes white nuns' civil rights activism in the story of the postconciliar reform of religious orders. Many essays make methodological or theoretical points that have broad applications to historical scholarship. Janet Moore Lindman looks beyond churches to find women's spirituality, arguing that women's letter writing, good works and attendance at funerals are meaningful acts of piety that historians may miss if they keep their eyes trained on "the meetinghouse." Susanna Morrill, in a fascinating piece on Mormon women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reads popular literature as a key to women's theological discourses. A few of the essays are less original—Pamela Nadell's article on women in American Judaism, for example, makes the uncontroversial claim that it is important to "emphasize women's agency" and to see women as "historical actors" in their own right. The academics and students who will likely make up this volume's main audience are in for a treat. (Apr. 23)
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Review

"The editor's programmatic introduction combines with well-researched and creatively conceived individual chapters to produce a landmark volume."
— Christian Century

"These twelve essays make fascinating reading. Together they make clear how much we miss of American religious history if we ignore the role of women of many ethnic and religious backgrounds."
— The Catholic Historical Review

"Reminds readers that a history that includes women will both enrich and alter one's understanding of American religious history. . . . Recommended."
— CHOICE

"These essays challenge historians to question the traditional narratives of the religious history of America . . . [and] provide models that can be used for further exploration and incorporation of women into American religious history."
— The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (April 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807858005
• ISBN-13: 978-0807858004
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Uneven in places but fairly concrete overall, December 29, 2009

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R. Foshee (Boca Raton, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Religious History of American Women: Reimagining the Past (Paperback)

Brekus' book can be very interesting at times, and very poorly put together at others. Most of the articles contained therein are well written and well researched. However, ironically, the article that I had the most problem with due to inconsistency and lack of focus was Brekus's own article. A few others suffered similar problems (i.e. the article on Feminism and Jews, it's entirely poorly put together). I did enjoy reading the articles but the unevenness in some of the articles makes it hard to want to go back over them for future reading/discussion.