Spiritual America

Spiritual America
Author: Richard Prince
Publisher:
Total Pages: 148
Release: 1989
Genre: Photography
ISBN:

"A distinction [Prince's] work brings out in particular is between pictures & what you do with pictures, between art & how art is used."-Stuart Morgan, Artscribe

Godtalk

Godtalk
Author: Brad Gooch
Publisher: Knopf
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2002
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

"From the author of City Poet, the biography of Frank O'Hara, now comes an account of thriving forms of spirituality in what is being called a "post-denominational" age." "As the nineties were drawing to a close, Brad Gooch set out on a journey to explore traditional and nontraditional forms of spirituality that took him across America and to India. Gooch's quest - partly personal and partly investigative - took him to Chicago to read the mysterious Urantia Book; to Goa and La Jolla to experience the talks and treatments of Deepak Chopra; to Ganeshpuri and South Fallsburg, New York, to listen to the charismatic leader Gurumayi Chidvilasananda; to Bardstown, Kentucky, to observe the quiet solitude of the Trappists and to Dubuque, Iowa, to see the Trappistines; to Dallas to worship with the members of the gay congregation of the Cathedral of Hope; and to New York to talk with Muslims and Sufis. As Gooch proceeded on this unique spiritual odyssey - from fringe to mainstream - he witnessed diverse movements and religions and their strong appeal to a broad spectrum of followers." "Brad Gooch has written a revealing, richly detailed document of our time. In Godtalk, character, dialogue, and setting come together in an irresistible, fast-paced narrative that is both engaging and informative about the unexpected nature of spirituality in America today."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Spiritual Politics

Spiritual Politics
Author: Mark Silk
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 212
Release: 1989-04-15
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 067167563X

About religion and politics in the United States after 1945.

Spiritual, but not Religious

Spiritual, but not Religious
Author: Robert C. Fuller
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2001-12-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199839581

Nearly 40% of all Americans have no connection with organized religion. Yet many of these people, even though they might never step inside a house of worship, live profoundly spiritual lives. But what is the nature and value of unchurched spirituality in America? Is it a recent phenomenon, a New Age fad that will soon fade, or a long-standing and essential aspect of the American experience? In Spiritual But Not Religious, Robert Fuller offers fascinating answers to these questions. He shows that alternative spiritual practices have a long and rich history in America, dating back to the colonial period, when church membership rarely exceeded 17% and interest in astrology, numerology, magic, and witchcraft ran high. Fuller traces such unchurched traditions into the mid-nineteenth century, when Americans responded enthusiastically to new philosophies such as Swedenborgianism, Transcendentalism, and mesmerism, right up to the current interest in meditation, channeling, divination, and a host of other unconventional spiritual practices. Throughout, Fuller argues that far from the flighty and narcissistic dilettantes they are often made out to be, unchurched spiritual seekers embrace a mature and dynamic set of basic beliefs. They focus on inner sources of spirituality and on this world rather than the afterlife; they believe in the accessibility of God and in the mind's untapped powers; they see a fundamental unity between science and religion and an equality between genders and races; and they are more willing to test their beliefs and change them when they prove untenable. Timely, sweeping in its scope, and informed by a clear historical understanding, Spiritual But Not Religious offers fresh perspective on the growing numbers of Americans who find their spirituality outside the church.

Soul Searching : The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers

Soul Searching : The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers
Author: Christian Smith Dr William R Kenan Jr Professor of Sociology University of Notre Dame
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2005-01-25
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 0198039972

In innumerable discussions and activities dedicated to better understanding and helping teenagers, one aspect of teenage life is curiously overlooked. Very few such efforts pay serious attention to the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of American adolescents. But many teenagers are very involved in religion. Surveys reveal that 35% attend religious services weekly and another 15% attend at least monthly. 60% say that religious faith is important in their lives. 40% report that they pray daily. 25% say that they have been "born again." Teenagers feel good about the congregations they belong to. Some say that faith provides them with guidance and resources for knowing how to live well. What is going on in the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers? What do they actually believe? What religious practices do they engage in? Do they expect to remain loyal to the faith of their parents? Or are they abandoning traditional religious institutions in search of a new, more authentic "spirituality"? This book attempts to answer these and related questions as definitively as possible. It reports the findings of The National Study of Youth and Religion, the largest and most detailed such study ever undertaken. The NYSR conducted a nationwide telephone survey of teens and significant caregivers, as well as nearly 300 in-depth face-to-face interviews with a sample of the population that was surveyed. The results show that religion and spirituality are indeed very significant in the lives of many American teenagers. Among many other discoveries, they find that teenagers are far more influenced by the religious beliefs and practices of their parents and caregivers than commonly thought. They refute the conventional wisdom that teens are "spiritual but not religious." And they confirm that greater religiosity is significantly associated with more positive adolescent life outcomes. This eagerly-awaited volume not only provides an unprecedented understanding of adolescent religion and spirituality but, because teenagers serve as bellwethers for possible future trends, it affords an important and distinctive window through which to observe and assess the current state and future direction of American religion as a whole.

Spiritual Marketplace

Spiritual Marketplace
Author: Wade Clark Roof
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2001-07-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1400823080

In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clark Roof notes, such changes over the last two decades reflect a shift away from religion as traditionally understood to more diverse and creative approaches. But what does this splintering of the religious perspective say about Americans? Have we become more interested in spiritual concerns or have we become lost among trends? Do we value personal spirituality over traditional religion and no longer see ourselves united in a larger community of faith? Roof first credited this religious diversity to the baby boomers in his bestselling A Generation of Seekers (1993). He returns to interview many of these people, now in mid-life, to reveal a generation with a unique set of spiritual values--a generation that has altered our historic interpretations of religious beliefs, practices, and symbols, and perhaps even our understanding of the sacred itself. The quest culture created by the baby boomers has generated a "marketplace" of new spiritual beliefs and practices and of revisited traditions. As Roof shows, some Americans are exploring faiths and spiritual disciplines for the first time; others are rediscovering their lost traditions; others are drawn to small groups and alternative communities; and still others create their own mix of values and metaphysical beliefs. Spiritual Marketplace charts the emergence of five subcultures: dogmatists, born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists. Drawing on surveys and in-depth interviews for over a decade, Roof reports on the religious and spiritual styles, family patterns, and moral vision and values for each of these subcultures. The result is an innovative, engaging approach to understanding how religious life is being reshaped as we move into the next century.

Witches of America

Witches of America
Author: Alex Mar
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0374709114

"Witches are gathering." When most people hear the word "witches," they think of horror films and Halloween, but to the nearly one million Americans who practice Paganism today, witchcraft is a nature-worshipping, polytheistic, and very real religion. So Alex Mar discovers when she sets out to film a documentary and finds herself drawn deep into the world of present-day magic. Witches of America follows Mar on her immersive five-year trip into the occult, charting modern Paganism from its roots in 1950s England to its current American mecca in the San Francisco Bay Area; from a gathering of more than a thousand witches in the Illinois woods to the New Orleans branch of one of the world's most influential magical societies. Along the way she takes part in dozens of rituals and becomes involved with a wild array of characters: a government employee who founds a California priesthood dedicated to a Celtic goddess of war; American disciples of Aleister Crowley, whose elaborate ceremonies turn the Catholic mass on its head; second-wave feminist Wiccans who practice a radical separatist witchcraft; a growing "mystery cult" whose initiates trace their rites back to a blind shaman in rural Oregon. This sprawling magical community compels Mar to confront what she believes is possible-or hopes might be. With keen intelligence and wit, Mar illuminates the world of witchcraft while grappling in fresh and unexpected ways with the question underlying every faith: Why do we choose to believe in anything at all? Whether evangelical Christian, Pagan priestess, or atheist, each of us craves a system of meaning to give structure to our lives. Sometimes we just find it in unexpected places.

Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America

Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America
Author: Robert Ellwood
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 373
Release: 2016-11-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1315507234

This text explores the major new or unconventional religions and spiritual movements in America that exist outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Pre-Post-Racial America

Pre-Post-Racial America
Author: Sandhya Rani Jha
Publisher: Chalice Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2015-03-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0827244932

Those people. Their issues. The day's news and the ways we treat each other, overtly or subliminally, prove we are not yet living in post-racial America. It's hard to talk about race in America without everyone very quickly becoming defensive and shutting down. What makes talking race even harder is that so few of us actually know each other in the fullness of our stories. A recent Reuters poll found 40% of White people have no friends of other races, and 25% of people of color only have friends of the same race. Sandhya Rani Jha addresses the hot topic in a way that is grounded in real people's stories and that offers solid biblical grounding for thinking about race relations in America, reminding us that God calls us to build Beloved Community. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter provide starting points for reading groups.

Finding a Spiritual Home

Finding a Spiritual Home
Author: Rabbi Sidney Schwarz, PhD
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2012-07-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 158023657X

The Jewish community has lost some of the most sensitive spiritual souls of this generation. They are Jews who were looking for God and found spiritual homes outside of Judaism. Their journeys traversed the Jewish community, but nothing there beckoned them. The creation of synagogue-communities in which the voices of seekers can be heard and their questions can be asked will challenge many loyalist Jews. It will upset and enrage them. But it would also enrich them. —from Chapter 18 In this fresh look at the spiritual possibilities of American Jewish life, Rabbi Sidney Schwarz presents the framework for a new synagogue model—the synagogue community—and its promise to transform our understanding of the synagogue and its potential for modern Judaism. Schwarz profiles four innovative synagogues—one from each of the major movements of Judaism—that have had extraordinary success with their approach to congregational life and presents practical ways to replicate their success. Includes a discussion guide for study groups and book clubs as well as a new afterword by the author describing developments in synagogue change projects since the book was first published.