Shopping for Faith American Religion in the New Millennium

by Cimino, Richard; Lattin, Don

• ISBN13: 9780787961046
• ISBN10: 0787961043
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-29
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Shopping for Faith is as good as it gets in assessing the U.S. religion scene at millennium's end. Cimino and Lattin present a picture of multiple trends headed in often contradictory directions. -- Robert Ellwood, emeritus professor of religion, University of Southern California American religion flourishes in a consumer culture, and presents us with a bewildering array of choices as we navigate the shopping mall of faith. The authors identify dozens of trends which will shape American religion in the next century and bring together the latest research and intimate portraits of Americans describing their beliefs, their religious heritage, and their spiritual search. With warmth and style the authors document how consumerism shapes religious practice -- from conservative evangelical worship to the most esoteric New Age workshop.

Author Biography

RICHARD CIMINO is editor and publisher of the much-quoted newsletter, Religion Watch (http://www.religionwatch.com), which monitors trAnds and research in contemporary religion. He has worked extensively as a researcher and freelance writer for various publications, including Christian Century and Religion News Service. He is the author of Against the Stream: The Adoption of Traditional Christian Faiths by Young Adults.

DON LATTIN is the award-winning religion writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Over the past twenty years he has interviewed thousands of Americans about their religious heritage and spiritual search. He was a fellow at the Program in Religious Studies for Journalists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has also taught religion reporting at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
The Authors
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Belief in America	1	(8)
PART ONE Searching for Self and Spirit
The Divorce Between Spirituality and Religion	9	(8)
Spiritual Seekers, True Believers
Varieties of Spirituality	17	(14)
Experiencing Religion
Turning East
Claiming
Spiritual Roots
Mix-and-Match Spirituality
Secular Spirituality
Bringing Spirit to Life	31	(24)
Gender Spirituality
Spirituality at Work
God and Pop Culture
Peace Between Science and Spirituality
Body, Mind, Spirit, and Medicine
Postscript: American Spirituality-Mystical and Practical	49	(6)
PART TWO Searching for Community
Congregations and Consumers	55	(21)
Marketing to Seekers
Why Strict Churches Grow
Traditional Congregations and Worship Wars
Grounding Spirituality in Congregations
Congregations on the Cutting Edge	76	(19)
Small Group Revival
Power to the People in the Pews
Women and the Changing Face of Ministry
Religion in the Post-Denominational Era	95	(36)
Future Faith: Downsized and Decentralized
Renewal Groups: Following the Spirit
Ministering in a Multicultural America
Technology and Virtual Religion
Christian Unity from the Bottom Up
Interfaith Prayers: Peace Between Religions
Postscript: Evangelism-Not Just for Evangelicals	124	(7)
PART THREE Searching for Common Culture
The Politics of Faith	131	(12)
Reaching Out
Religious Right Presses Forward
Religious Left ``Born Again''
Culture Wars, Social Peace	143	(15)
Polarization in the Pews
Challenging the ``Secular'' Media
Seeking Common Ground
Emerging Social Issues	158	(29)
Stewards of the Earth
New Partnerships to Help the Poor
Reading, Writing, and Religion: The Rise of Religious Schools
New Clashes Between Church and State
Cults: Dangerous, Deviant, or Just Different?
Millennial Fever: New Age Vision, Old-Time Religion
Postscript: Personal Faith, Public Life	183	(4)
Afterword	187	(4)
Notes	191	(14)
Bibliography	205	(10)
Index	215