Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America

Fuller, Robert C.

ISBN 10: 0195146808 / ISBN 13: 9780195146806

Edité par Oxford University Press (edition 1), 2001

With dust jacket. It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs of wear and tear, such as markings, highlighting, slight damage to the cover, minimal wear to the binding, etc., but they will not affect the overall reading experience. N° de réf. du vendeur 0195146808-11-1-29

Synopsis :

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.

À propos de l?auteur: Robert C. Fuller is Professor of Religious Studies at Bradley University. The author of Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession and Alternative Medicine in American Religious Life (both OUP), he lives in Peoria, Illinois.

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding ...
Éditeur : Oxford University Press (edition 1)
Date d'édition : 2001
Reliure : Hardcover
Etat : Good
Etat de la jaquette : Jaquette
Edition : 1.