America Religions and Religion 5th by Catherine L. Albanese
ISBN-13: 9781133050025
ISBN-10: 1133050026
Much has happened in the American religious world in just the five years since the
fourth edition of America: Religions and Religion appeared in print. The M
ormons
now constitute the fourth largest American denomination; the Southern
Baptists
have declined in membership for the third year in a row; the ?Nones? (not C
atholic
sisters but people declaring no religious affiliation) have grown steadily and, for
many observers, astonishingly; there is one Shaker less in the last surviving
Shaker
community in Maine; ?holy unions? have become ?same-sex marriages?; and a
generation is now half-grown that does not personally remember September 11,
2001. Meanwhile, American civil religion has taken a new turn with the election
of the nation?s first African American president; Oprah Winfrey has been a
national presence as she teaches new spirituality; an ?emerging church? has grown
stronger as it engages with postmodernity; and Protestants, according to some pollsters,
have dipped below half of the church-going public.
This new edition pays attention to the changes. Throughout the text, material
has been updated and new information supplied as relevant. An expanded section
examines Islam and its presence in the twenty-first century against the frame
of Islam?s global reach and, thus, Islamic pluralism here in the United States.
M
aterial on developments as different as the growth of Protestant megachurches,
Roman Catholic Womenpriests, and Jewish movements that take their inspiration
from the Kabbalah has been added. Although Oprah Winfrey is not to be found in
the chapters that follow, the previous edition?s section on new spirituality has been
enlarged and systematized to a greater extent. It has also been coordinated with a
new section on the emerging church. Even as new spirituality moves out from the
New Age movement, the emerging church takes a significant point of departure
from conservative Protestant ranks. Both movements?new spirituality and the
emerging church?soften the boundaries of earlier movements and combine with
aspects of general American culture in interesting and instructive ways.
