Buy new:
-20% $24.09
FREE delivery Sunday, September 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon
Sold by: BEYBAGI
$24.09 with 20 percent savings
List Price: $29.95
The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Sunday, September 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Thursday, September 19. Order within 4 hrs 49 mins.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$24.09 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.09
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon
Ships from
Amazon
Sold by
BEYBAGI
Sold by
BEYBAGI
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$18.58
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Sunday, September 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Friday, September 20. Order within 4 hrs 49 mins.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$24.09 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.09
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Leigh Eric Schmidt
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality Paperback – September 5, 2012

by Leigh Eric Schmidt (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$24.09","priceAmount":24.09,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"09","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"YeSjyiKcr3D5oK9QawT2NQE6xlSUEkl0vQhDl8mviNMG%2Fl9B4G7pIsZQ5Th8HaqTH%2FT0%2FJeQ6uh6ZYwtzWRW6e3bmH2Yl4%2FV2qceb2PMzu4t5zaJEBf%2FtGLbE9q9BM4egaFi6yRQyouQvbMhGCZCv%2BYU2JA9XUq%2B8BHu7GSU9xUy0NIbj%2BIt6I6fW6oEpXDf","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$18.58","priceAmount":18.58,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"18","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"58","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"YeSjyiKcr3D5oK9QawT2NQE6xlSUEkl0PyxulWtI6SwVWZ4OlptaF07Xi9HDwjPiejZHAMDMGyjH24MEpUPZV68R5mo03EsHEVFJ%2BHGSu%2BmrnSBLAvkjwGlSt8z9LEQfzFO6ot%2B%2FPk62HAhzZaJSq7kAIf7HtEeK4GjtyWGeMyLgS9iHt%2B6VtIYujbMEIy3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Yoga classes and Zen meditation, New-Age retreats and nature mysticism―all are part of an ongoing religious experimentation that has surprisingly deep roots in American history. Tracing out the country’s Transcendentalist and cosmopolitan religious impulses over the last two centuries, Restless Souls explores America’s abiding romance with spirituality as religion’s better half. Now in its second edition, including a new preface, Leigh Eric Schmidt's fascinating book provides a rich account of how this open-road spirituality developed in American culture in the first place as well as a sweeping survey of the liberal religious movements that touted it and ensured its continued vitality.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    360 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of California Press
  4. Publication date
    September 5, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780520273672
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0520273672
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality
This item: Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality
$24.09
Get it as soon as Sunday, Sep 22
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by BEYBAGI and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
+
Selling Spirituality
$33.78
Get it as soon as Sunday, Sep 22
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening
$15.53
Get it as soon as Sunday, Sep 22
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Treatment
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leigh Eric Schmidt is Edward C. Mallinckrodt University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of numerous books,
including Heaven’s Bride: The Unprintable Life of Ida C. Craddock, American Mystic, Scholar, Sexologist, Martyr, and Madwoman, Hearing
Things: Religion, Illusion, and the American Enlightenment, and Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0520273672
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; Second Edition, With a New Preface (September 5, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 360 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780520273672
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520273672
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Leigh Eric Schmidt

Leigh Eric Schmidt

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Paul Giurlanda
5.0 out of 5 stars Readable, reliable, relevant
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2009
Verified Purchase
I've been using this book in a class I teach on contemporary spirituality, and students have responded well to it. Schmidt focuses on the New England axis, as it were, of American liberal religion, and leaves it to others to explore the later developments. I wanted to read, for example, about Esalen and the sixties, Ramtha, Seth, and Oprah, but I think Schmidt was wise to limit his focus. Perhaps we'll see a volume two? I would certainly enjoy that. What's excellent about the book is that it demonstrates that American metaphysical or liberal spirituality is not ONLY Robert Bellah's "Sheilah-ism," i.e., self-indulgent, narcissistic, etc. It is a genuine spiritual quest and, as such, provides a real alternative for contemporary culture that seems divided between right wing religious lunacy and (truly) self-indulgent materialism. Bravo to Leigh Schmidt, and please keep writing!
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
pablo paz
5.0 out of 5 stars Where we're coming from
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a book that tells a story i always thought must be there, but no one ever talked about. This is the other side of the Religious Culture Wars that we've heard so much about in the last years -- but this is the history of the side that has not claimed its length and depth. Find out where liberal religions have come from. Read this book.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
C. L. Vash
5.0 out of 5 stars Idea of Religious Liberalism Made Clear
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2006
Verified Purchase
This is what this book has done for me. I have attended Unitarian churches but never understood how "liberal" ... a political term, it seemed to me ... related to religion. Now I get it. If I were still teaching graduate psychology courses to health and rehabilitation practitioners, I'd include this book as required reading for a course designed to help them deal with the DEEP problems of people with illnesses and disabilities without getting into religious proselyting.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
JDS
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully research and well-written account of a pivotal time in ...
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
A beautifully research and well-written account of a pivotal time in American social and religious history. It helps the reader understand the background of some of today's cultural and religious battles.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mark Gilbert
2.0 out of 5 stars Subject worth exploring misses the mark
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2009
I excitiedly picked up this book when it came out but only recently found the time to sit down with it. The topic is one that I am fascinated by and have studied a bit. I walked away at the end overall disappointed. That is not to say the book does not have merit.

First the pluses...

The subject matter....as the cultural creatives or integral inclined individuals who are "spiritual but not religious" look to see the pattern or history in America that has been brewing on the cutting edge of religious/spiritual thought the last 150 years or so...the subject is a timely one that needs to be fully explored....thanks for taking it on.

Covering some of the essential forces.....Emerson and the transcendentalists are explored and cited.

A few engaging stories of lesser known influences.....I liked the stories of Ralph Waldo Trine (with whom I have read and was familiar) and Sarah Farmer (with whom I was not).

Now the minuses....

The format of chapters focusing on some topic (e.g., meditation) and how they impacted our growth....this seemed forced, there was too much overlap of the stories with the details of those brought out in other chapters and led to each chapter jumping around to bring too many short references to other influences that maybe related to the chapter's "topic".

The author's writing style was not always engaging. Some of his stories engaged (as mentioned), but (and this may be a product of how he outlined his chapters into topics) there seemed to be too much jumping around. He could have benefited from using a bit more of a sequential fact telling to help his reader stay with the overall story....bottom line was that there were really engaging stories within chapters and they were strung together with other details that led to the overall direction of the chapter being somewhat lost.

The biggest complaint.....so many major influences upon the modern desire for spiritual experiences were either not in the book or only briefly mentioned in some passing reference (or were mentioned sporactically as he wanted to make a point about them in this themed chapters, hence losing the importance of them). For example, he mentions New Thought collectively but primarily points at Dresser as the entire subject. He does mention some of Quimby and a bit of Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science in reference to NT but most NT scholars quickly point out that Christian Science is not truly New Thought...readers of this book would think that it is. Major New Thought influences are not mentioned at all! Where is Emma Curtis Hopkins, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore (Unity), or Ernest Holmes (Science of Mind)? All had much more lasting influence than Dresser or Trine....and in the more popular culture, where is Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, or Napoleon Hill? Where are other major Eastern influences such as Yogananda? I could go on....If this truly is the "making of American Spirituality" as the title implies, then this books greatest failure is one of omission of very real and vital influences upon that topic.

Finally, the payoff on current culture in the book seemed to be reduced to pitting traditional conservative Christians vs the "Church of Oprah". Although Oprah certainly is an influence, she is more indicative of the maturing of Americans such that those few who were on the cutting edge of sprituality in the 19th century are now growing in numbers due to more and more people transcending old worldviews and moving into what has been labeled the cultural creatives (or the green and higher meme levels in Spiral Dynamics). This natural evolution of our culture is the end game story which the author overlooked.

I would have given this book 2 1/2 stars if possible....kudos for tackling the topic....kudos for some engaging stories of a few of the influences on American spirituality....however for someone looking for the "making of American spirituality", please know that you are getting only certain interesting pieces of background presented to you without a full picture of what is truly unfolding in our current society.
19 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mitchell S. Gould
2.0 out of 5 stars Disorganized, overly broad = self-indulgent
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2013
The essential premise of this book, and much of the scholarship upon which it is based, are quite praiseworthy. And yes, the book addresses the fundamental need to illuminate the persistence of liberal theology in America. But, while there are several sparkling veins of valuable information here, extracting them from the tough ore of worthless rumination proved entirely too tedious for me.

I agree with the comments by Mark Gilbert on this page that the writing "jumps around" far too much. We can be more definite about it: the writing is by turns too often disorganized, repetitive, facile, and, ultimately, completely unequal to the author's grandiose ambition. After all, the very idea of a book that seriously addresses both Oprah and Emerson, as if one of them has anything remotely to do with the other, is absurd. So, in a word, the book is a sobering display of self-indulgence: it's not much more than an exercise in remarkably-well-informed free association, masquerading as perceptive analysis.

Don't think E. Brooks Holifield's misguided "Theology in America" will help make up for the failures of "Restless Souls." Turn instead to Catherine L. Albanese's "A Republic of Mind and Spirit."
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Ian Williams
1.0 out of 5 stars Book sucks, sorry. Reads like a textbook
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2017
There is some very interesting literature on this subject out there and this one reads like a textbook. I had to read it for a class (Spiritual But Not Religious at UVA) and the only bad thing about the class is this book.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report