Memoirs of the Spirit : American Religious Autobiography from Jonathan Edwards to Maya Angelou

• ISBN13: 9780802849960
• ISBN10: 0802849962
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Lightning Source Inc

Summary

This anthology offers a fascinating entry in the study of American religious experience during the past three centuries. Compiled and edited by a foremost historian of American religion, these twenty-six spiritual autobiographies uniquely capture the nation's soul in the words of the people who helped shape it.

The volume contains spiritual autobiographies by: Mary Rowlandson, Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Rush, Richard Allen, Peter Cartwright, Orestes Brownson, Frederick Douglass, Isaac Mayer Wise, Black Elk, Harry Emerson Fosdick, John LaFarge, Mary Antin, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paramahansa Yogananda, Benjamin E. Mays, Dorothy Day, Mary McCarthy, Virginia Sorenson, Thomas Merton, Alan Watts, Billy Graham, Jimmy Carter, William F. Buckley Jr., Maya Angelou, Barbara G. Harrison, and Richard Rodriguez.

Author Biography

Edwin S. Gaustad is professor emeritus of history and religious studies at the University of California, Riverside

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xiii
The Captive	1	(16)
Mary Rowlandson
The Sinner	17	(18)
Jonathan Edwards
The Patriot	35	(16)
Benjamin Rush
The Bishop	51	(12)
Richard Allen
The Frontiersman	63	(14)
Peter Cartwright
The Convert	77	(16)
Orestes Brownson
The Slave	93	(14)
Frederick Douglass
The Americanizer	107	(12)
Isaac Mayer Wise
The Holy Man	119	(12)
Black Elk
The Polemicist	131	(16)
Harry Emerson Fosdick
The Editor	147	(10)
John LaFarge
The Immigrant	157	(10)
Mary Antin
The Theologian	167	(12)
Reinhold Niebuhr
The Yogi	179	(14)
Paramahansa Yogananda
The Educator	193	(14)
Benjamin E. Mays
The Pacifist	207	(12)
Dorothy Day
The Schoolgirl	219	(10)
Mary McCarthy
The Westerner	229	(12)
Virginia Sorensen
The Monk	241	(16)
Thomas Merton
The Buddhist	257	(12)
Alan Watts
The Revivalist	269	(18)
Billy Graham
The President	287	(16)
Jimmy Carter
The Mariner	303	(16)
William F. Buckley Jr.
The Poet	319	(12)
Maya Angelou
The Witness	331	(14)
Barbara G. Harrison
The ``Minority Student''	345
Richard Rodriguez