Contemporary American Religion

by Becker, Penny Edgell; Eiesland, Nancy L.

• ISBN13: 9780761991953
• ISBN10: 0761991956
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-11-01
• Publisher: Altamira Pr

Summary

Contemporary American Religion collects qualitative, on-the-ground studies of local congregations by up-and-coming religious scholars. Ethnography combined with more traditional sociological methods, help make sense of complex religious communities--from Messianic Jews to evangelical feminists, from Gospel Hour at a gay bar to exurban megachurches. This collection covers a wide span of the religious landscape, always trying to uncover new theoretical insights. Essential reading for classes in sociology of religion, contemporary American religion, and anthropology of religion.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	7	(2)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS	9	(6)
INTRODUCTION Developing Interpretations: Ethnography and the Restructuring of Knowledge in a Changing Field	15	(10)
Penny Edgell Becker
Nancy L. Eiesland
1 MANAGING STRAIN, CONTRADICTIONS, AND FLUIDITY Messianic Judaism and the Negotiation of a Religio-Ethnic Identity	25	(26)
Shoshanah Feher
2 STRUGGLES FOR MUTUAL REVERENCE Social Strategies and Religious Stories	51	(28)
Matthew P. Lawson
3 THE GOSPEL HOUR: Liminality, Identity, and Religion in a Gay Bar	79	(20)
Edward R. Gray
Scott L. Thumma
4 TO STAY OR TO LEAVE? Organizational Legitimacy in the Struggle for Change among Evangelical Feminists	99	(22)
Janet Stocks
5 WHAT IS RIGHT? WHAT IS CARING? Moral Logics in Local Religious Life	121	(26)
Penny Edgell Becker
6 SPLITTING INTERESTS OR COMMON CAUSES Styles of Moral Reasoning in Opposing Abortion	147	(22)
Elfriede Wedam
7 THE CHURCH AND THE STREET Race, Class, and Congregation	169	(22)
Timothy J. Nelson
8 CONTENDING WITH A GIANT The Impact of a Megachurch on Exurban Religious Institutions	191	(30)
Nancy L. Eiesland
9 THE RELIGIOUS CONSTRUCTION OF A GLOBAL IDENTITY An Ethnographic Look at the Atlanta Baha'i Community	221	(24)
Michael McMullen
CONCLUSION The Cultural Turn: Stories, Logics, and the Quest for Identity in American Religion	245	(22)
Robert Wuthnow
INDEX	267