A look at how support groups have affected American society argues that, although support groups provide a warmth and security that holds society together, they can lead to an unhealthy self-absorption and a trivialized sense of what is sacred.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Forty percent of all Americans meet regularly in support groups such as AA or Bible Study. Princeton's chronicler of religious life Wuthnow (Christianity in the Twenty-first Century, Acts of Compassion) interviews 1,000 support-group members to find out why--and comes up with some intriguing conclusions in this thoughtful, well-written work. Most Americans, Wuthnow claims, lead lives not of quiet desperation but of turbulent upheaval; the average family moves at least once every three years, and half of those families are ripped apart by divorce. Many people--like 26-year-old mother-of-two Karen, whose parents divorced and remarried while she was still in high school, who has herself changed jobs 6 times and moved 11 times in the past 12 years--look to small groups (Karen belongs to a women's Bible Study group that meets once a week) to provide a sense of family and community. But while support groups can be many things to many people--helping members become more spiritually disciplined, building self-esteem, and providing forums for the narration of individual stories--such groups are no substitute for the multi-textured ties that families create over decades in the dailiness of private life. Nor, posits Wuthnow, can support groups be expected to eliminate crime and poverty, create jobs, recast foreign policy, or reduce the national debt. Still, these gatherings--many take place in church basements--are clearly one of the most vital forces in American ecclesiastical life; in fact, the traditional Sunday morning churchgoer may well be replaced by the Monday or Wednesday evening support-group member. Sensitive, well-reasoned, and insightful--with valuable commentary on the much-maligned ``culture of victimhood.'' -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In the driveway across the street, a vintage silver Porsche sits on blocks as its owner tinkers with the engine. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
smallgroup movement, nonchurch groups, small fellowship groups, praise item, who say each, composite evaluations, cultivate spirituality, making newcomers, seeing love, most small groups, covenant groups, occasional participants, many group members, member satisfaction, been deepened Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Alcoholics Anonymous, Wednesday Women's Group, Logos Fellowship, Pastor Ken, Pastor Stone, Independent Sector, New Age, The Saturday New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the driveway across the street, a vintage silver Porsche sits on blocks as its owner tinkers with the engine. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
smallgroup movement, nonchurch groups, small fellowship groups, praise item, who say each, composite evaluations, cultivate spirituality, making newcomers, seeing love, most small groups, covenant groups, occasional participants, many group members, member satisfaction, been deepened Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Alcoholics Anonymous, Wednesday Women's Group, Logos Fellowship, Pastor Ken, Pastor Stone, Independent Sector, New Age, The Saturday New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
See all 100 books this book cites
- Home Cell Groups and House Churches by C. Kirk Hadaway on 4 pages
- Using the Bible in Groups by Roberta Hestenes on 4 pages
- The sociology of small groups (Foundations of modern sociology series) by Theodore M Mills on 4 pages
- Cultivating religious growth groups (The Pastor's handbooks) by Charles M Olsen in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith Since World War II (Studies in Church and State) by Robert Wuthnow in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 100 books this book cites
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