Retelling U.S. Religious History [Paperback]

Thomas A. Tweed (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520205707 | ISBN-13: 978-0520205703 | Publication Date: January 5, 1997

This collection marks a turning point in the study of the history of American religions. In challenging the dominant paradigm, Thomas A. Tweed and his coauthors propose nothing less than a reshaping of the way that American religious history is understood, studied, and taught.
The range of these essays is extraordinary. They analyze sexual pleasure, colonization, gender, and interreligious exchange. The narrators position themselves in a number of geographical sites, including the Canadian border, the American West, and the Deep South. And they discuss a wide range of groups, from Pueblo Indians and Russian Orthodox to Japanese Buddhists and Southern Baptists.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"This collection represents a bold attempt to retell the story of religion in America from the perspectives generated by a younger generation of scholars. It is challenging, provocative, and enlightening . . . [and] demands the careful attention of everyone interested in the religious history and culture of the nation."--Al Raboteau, author of A Fire in the Bones

"Thomas Tweed's book is an important, cutting-edge endeavor bound to advance debate and attract considerable attention."--Amanda Porterfield, author of Female Piety in Puritan New England

"Tweed and his colleagues challenge--as well they should--the belief that any single narrative can succeed in telling the story of American religion."--Edward T. Linenthal, author of Preserving Memory

"The old ways of telling the story of American religions--as the unfolding of the Puritan or evangelical or liberal 'impulse' from sea to shining sea or as the interplay of 'mainstream' and 'marginal' religious idioms--will not work anymore. . . . Tom Tweed has assembled an extraordinary group of scholars to consider alternative tellings of American religious histories."--Robert Orsi, author of The Madonna of One-Hundred & Fifteenth Street

"Provocative and compelling, [the contributors] do a superb job of incorporating innovative monographic literature into coherent narratives. The result is an engaging book that will enrich our understanding of religion in America."--Colleen McDannell, author of Material Christianity

From the Back Cover

"This collection represents a bold attempt to retell the story of religion in America from the perspectives generated by a younger generation of scholars. It is challenging, provocative, and enlightening . . . [and] demands the careful attention of everyone interested in the religious history and culture of the nation." (Al Raboteau, author of A Fire in the Bones) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 321 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (January 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520205707
• ISBN-13: 978-0520205703
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating articles rethinking American religious history., January 2, 1999

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[e-mail] (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retelling U.S. Religious History (Paperback)

Enjoyable to read and up-to-date in scholarship, this is a collection of essays by leading American and Canadian authorities in the field of Religious Studies. Eight fascinating articles make the case for looking with fresh eyes at the classic anglocentric and Protestant orientation to studying religion in America. Of special interest are the essays by Roger Finke, Ann Braude, and Catherine Albanese. Sociologist Finke, also well known for his revealing book The Churching of America, 1776-1990, offers a supply-side market interpretation of the rise and decline of membership in American denominations, an approach which is much more fascinating, and persuasive, than it may sound. Ann Braude of Macalester College provides a much needed antidote to the practice of scholars who focus on the historical role of male religious leaders while ignoring the contributions of the female majority who constitute the backbone of religious institutions. She describes the different vision of religion which comes into focus when seen from the perspective of increasing participation by, and influence of, women rather than the declining involvement of men. Catherine Albanese, whose America: Religion and Religions, has been a staple of Religion in America courses for nearly two decades, is at her cogent best demonstrating that religion in America is not simply the result of the paternalistic influence of Protestantism on other faiths, but a reciprocal process of contact and change crossing many boundaries. This book is for the informed layperson as well as academics seeking to look with new eyes at an important subject.