All in Sync

by Wuthnow, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780520237698
• ISBN10: 0520237692
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Robert Wuthnow shows how music and art are revitalizing churches and religious life across the nation in this first-ever consideration of the relationship between religion and the arts.All in Syncdraws on more than four hundred in-depth interviews with church members, clergy, and directors of leading arts organizations and a new national survey to document a strong positive relationship between participation in the arts and interest in spiritual growth. Wuthnow argues that contemporary spirituality is increasingly encouraged by the arts because of its emphasis on transcendent experience and personal reflection. This kind of spirituality, contrary to what many observers have imagined, is compatible with active involvement in churches and serious devotion to Christian practices. The absorbing narrative relates the story of a woman who overcame a severe personal crisis and went on to head a spiritual direction center where participants use the arts to gain clarity about their own spiritual journeys. Readers visit contemporary worship services in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston and listen to leaders and participants explain how music and art have contributed to the success of these services.All in Syncalso illustrates how music and art are integral parts of some Episcopal, African American, and Orthodox worship services, and how people of faith are using their artistic talents to serve others. Besides examining the role of the arts in personal spirituality and in congregational life, Wuthnow discusses how clergy and lay leaders are rethinking the role of the imagination, especially in connection with traditional theological virtues. He also shows how churches and arts organizations sometimes find themselves at odds over controversial moral questions and competing claims about spirituality. Accessible, relevant, and innovative, this book is essential for anyone searching for a better understanding of the dynamic relationships among religion, spirituality, and American culture.

Author Biography

Robert Wuthnow is Gerhard R. Andlinger '52 Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
A Puzzle: The Question of Religious Vitality	p. 1
Explaining Religious Vitality	p. 8
Rethinking the Conventional Wisdom	p. 12
Are the Arts a Factor?	p. 16
Contemporary Spirituality: Seeking the Sacred in an Era of Uncertainty	p. 21
The Search for Spirituality	p. 23
Practices with Roots	p. 27
Involvement in a Religious Community	p. 32
Devotion to a Tradition	p. 39
Effort Devoted to Spiritual Growth	p. 43
Practices with Results	p. 47
Evangelicals, Mainliners, and Catholics	p. 49
Summing Up	p. 52
A Blending of Cultures: The Arts and Spirituality	p. 56
Childhood Exposure to the Arts	p. 59
Adult Participation in the Arts	p. 60
Expressing Creativity	p. 64
Self-Definition and Valuing the Arts	p. 65
A Summary Measure	p. 66
The Arts and Spirituality	p. 68
Social Factors	p. 72
Making the Connections	p. 75
Personal Spirituality: Art and the Practice of Spiritual Discipline	p. 79
Rediscovering Prayer	p. 83
Spiritual Direction	p. 93
Art and Discipline	p. 103
Times of Trial	p. 109
The Role of Groups	p. 113
From Self to Service	p. 122
The Arts and Devotional Life	p. 130
The Joy of Worship: Expression and Tradition in Congregational Life	p. 134
The Artistic Involvement of Church Members	p. 137
What Churches Are Doing	p. 142
Contemporary Worship	p. 151
Liturgical Renewal	p. 168
The Difference It Makes	p. 179
Redeeming the Imagination: The Arts and Spiritual Virtue	p. 183
What Americans Try to Imagine	p. 185
Changing Meanings of the Imagination	p. 189
The Imagination and Faith	p. 192
The Imagination and Hope	p. 198
The Imagination and Community	p. 203
Encouraging the Imagination	p. 209
The Morality Problem: Why Churches and Artists Disagree	p. 213
Public Perceptions of the Arts	p. 214
What Arts Leaders Think	p. 224
Church Leaders' Views	p. 228
Evangelicals Talk about the Arts	p. 230
Working Together?	p. 234
The Artist in Everyone: Faithful Living in a Spiritual Democracy	p. 236
The Arts as a Resource	p. 236
A Spiritual Democracy?	p. 238
Spiritual Formation	p. 240
The Role of Leadership	p. 244
Methodology	p. 249
Notes	p. 261
Index	p. 279
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