Synopses & Reviews
American Grace is a major achievement, a groundbreaking examination of religion in America. Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. But in recent decades the nation’s religious landscape has been reshaped.
America has experienced three seismic shocks, say Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In the 1960s, religious observance plummeted. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, a conservative reaction produced the rise of evangelicalism and the Religious Right. Since the 1990s, however, young people, turned off by that linkage between faith and conservative politics, have abandoned organized religion. The result has been a growing polarization—the ranks of religious conservatives and secular liberals have swelled, leaving a dwindling group of religious moderates in between. At the same time, personal interfaith ties are strengthening. Interfaith marriage has increased while religious identities have become more fluid. Putnam and Campbell show how this denser web of personal ties brings surprising interfaith tolerance, notwithstanding the so-called culture wars.
American Grace is based on two of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America. It includes a dozen in-depth profiles of diverse congregations across the country, which illuminate how the trends described by Putnam and Campbell affect the lives of real Americans.
Nearly every chapter of American Grace contains a surprise about American religious life. Among them:
• Between one-third and one-half of all American marriages are interfaith;
• Roughly one-third of Americans have switched religions at some point in their lives;
• Young people are more opposed to abortion than their parents but more accepting of gay marriage;
• Even fervently religious Americans believe that people of other faiths can go to heaven;
• Religious Americans are better neighbors than secular Americans: more generous with their time and treasure even for secular causes—but the explanation has less to do with faith than with their communities of faith;
• Jews are the most broadly popular religious group in America today.
American Grace promises to be the most important book in decades about American religious life and an essential book for understanding our nation today.
Review
"But whether looking at politics or piety, the authors complement their statistical analysis with colorful vignettes.... An essential resource for anyone trying to understand twenty-first-century America." (Starred Review) Booklist
Review
"A monumental and insightful sociological analysis of the current religious climate and how it developed. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"Harvard's Robert D. Putnam is probably the most famous sociologist in America, especially since 2000, when he published Bowling Alone, a landmark book about Americans' increasing disconnection since the 1950s from family, friends, neighbors, and community institutions. In the decade since Bowling Alone came out, Putnam has turned his gaze on religion, and now, with Notre Dame political scientist David E. Campbell, he has produced American Grace, an expansive survey of religion in American life during the past half-century." Kevin M. Schultz, The Wilson Quarterly (Read the entire )
Synopsis
Based on two new studies, American Grace examines the impact of religion on American life and how that impact has changed in the last half-century.
Synopsis
American Grace is a major achievement, a groundbreaking examination of religion in America.
Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. But in recent decades the nation's religious landscape has been reshaped.
America has experienced three seismic shocks, say Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In the 1960s, religious observance plummeted. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, a conservative reaction produced the rise of evangelicalism and the Religious Right. Since the 1990s, however, young people, turned off by that linkage between faith and conservative politics, have abandoned organized religion. The result has been a growing polarization — the ranks of religious conservatives and secular liberals have swelled, leaving a dwindling group of religious moderates in between. At the same time, personal interfaith ties are strengthening. Interfaith marriage has increased while religious identities have become more fluid. Putnam and Campbell show how this denser web of personal ties brings surprising interfaith tolerance, notwithstanding the so-called culture wars.
American Grace is based on two of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America. It includes a dozen in-depth profiles of diverse congregations across the country, which illuminate how the trends described by Putnam and Campbell affect the lives of real Americans.
Nearly every chapter of American Grace contains a surprise about American religious life. Among them:
- Between one-third and one-half of all American marriages are interfaith;
- Roughly one-third of Americans have switched religions at some point in their lives;
- Young people are more opposed to abortion than their parents but more accepting of gay marriage;
- Even fervently religious Americans believe that people of other faiths can go to heaven;
- Religious Americans are better neighbors than secular Americans: more generous with their time and treasure even for secular causes — but the explanation has less to do with faith than with their communities of faith;
- Jews are the most broadly popular religious group in America today.
American Grace promises to be the most important book in decades about American religious life and an essential book for understanding our nation today.
Synopsis
One of the unquestioned assumptions of the culture wars gripping our country is the gulf between the social and moral values of each side. And since those valuesand#151;on at least one sideand#151;are often rooted in religious beliefs and doctrines, the chances of finding lasting common ground are thought to be slim. Mark A. Smithand#8217;s timely book provocatively takes a contrary view: religion is not nearly the unchanging, conservative influence in American politics that we have come to think it is. In fact, in the long run, religion is best understood as responding to changing political and cultural values rather than shaping them. To make his case, Smith explores five contentious issues in Americaand#8217;s history:and#160; slavery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, and womenand#8217;s rights. In every instance he shows how the political views of even very conservative Christians have evolved in the same direction as the rest of society. Over time, the doctrines and policies of Americaand#8217;s Christian religious traditions shift to conform to contemporary societal norms and culture. He also uncovers the various coping strategies Americaand#8217;s churches and clergy have adopted when their doctrines are no longer in step with the views of their congregations. While it is true that during periods of cultural transition religious leaders often will resist prevailing values and behaviors, those same leaders just as often acquiesce once their positions become no longer tenable. And when they do, secular ideas and influences often shape how they revise their biblical interpretations. Ultimately, the strongest predictors of peopleand#8217;s moral beliefs are not their religious convictions, or lack of them, but rather when and where they were born. Christians in America today hold more in common morally and politically with their atheist neighbors than with the Christians of earlier centuries.
Synopsis
When Pope Francis recently answered andldquo;Who am I to judge?andrdquo; when asked about homosexuality, he ushered in a new era for the Catholic church. A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable for a pope to express tolerance for homosexuality. Yet shifts of this kind are actually common in the history of Christian groups. Within the United States, Christian leaders have regularly revised their teachings to match the beliefs and opinions gaining support among their members and larger society.
Mark A. Smith provocatively argues that religion is not nearly the unchanging conservative influence in American politics that we have come to think it is. In fact, in the long run, religion is best understood as responding to changing political and cultural values rather than shaping them. Smith makes his case by charting five contentious issues in Americaandrsquo;s history: slavery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, and womenandrsquo;s rights. For each, he shows how the political views of even the most conservative Christians evolved in the same direction as the rest of societyandmdash;perhaps not as swiftly, but always on the same arc. During periods of cultural transition, Christian leaders do resist prevailing values and behaviors, but those same leaders inevitably acquiesceandmdash;often by reinterpreting the Bibleandmdash;if their positions become no longer tenable. Secular ideas and influences thereby shape the ways Christians read and interpret their scriptures.
So powerful are the cultural and societal norms surrounding us that Christians in America today hold more in common morally and politically with their atheist neighbors than with the Christians of earlier centuries. In fact, the strongest predictors of peopleandrsquo;s moral beliefs are not their religious commitments or lack thereof but rather when and where they were born. A thoroughly researched and ultimately hopeful book on the prospects for political harmony, Secular Faith demonstrates how, over the long run, boundaries of secular and religious cultures converge.
About the Author
Robert D. Putnam is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and founder of the Saguaro Seminar, a program dedicated to fostering civic engagement in America. He is the author or coauthor of ten previous books and is former dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. David E. Campbell is the John Cardinal O'Hara, C.S.C. Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame as well as a research fellow with the Institute for Educational Initiatives. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of several books, and his work has also appeared in the Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. He lives near South Bend, Indiana.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Strategies of Adaptation
Chapter 2and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Slavery
Chapter 3and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Divorce
Chapter 4and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Homosexuality
Chapter 5and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Abortion
Chapter 6and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Womenandrsquo;s Rights
Chapter 7and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Religion, Politics, and Morality
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Robert D. Putnam
Read an exclusive essay by David E. Campbell