Well-presented and engaging essays, by some of the foremost
religious scholars working today, examining the histories of 12
diverse religious institutions. An outgrowth of the University of
Chicago Divinity School's Congregational History Project, the
lengthy first volume looks at what the editors view as the basic
unit of religious association: the congregation. Though this term
is often thought of as having distinctly Jewish or Christian
connotations, it is used here more broadly to encompass any
religious community that gathers together on a regular basis in a
specific place to carry out its principle function, worship. Having
opened up the definition in this manner, the volume is free to look
at a variety of religious expressions. Though some of the
communities examined are Jewish (Rockdale Temple in Cincinnati) or
Christian (St. Peter's Parish, a Roman Catholic church in San
Francisco; Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago; and others), the authors
also examine Lac La Biche Muslim Community in Alberta, Canada;
Swaminarayan, a Hindu temple in Chicago; and Sugar House, a Mormon
"ward" in Utah. In their essay on Center Church (founded in 1638)
in New Haven, Conn., Harry Stout (American Christianity/Yale Univ.)
and Catherine Brekus (History of Christianity/Univ. of Chicago)
describe an aging mainstream denomination experiencing such typical
difficulties as declining attendance and preoccupation with the
institution's past more than its present. One of the most
interesting essays, by Lawrence Mamiya (Religion and Africana
Studies/Vassar), covers Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
in Baltimore, one of the black neo-Pentecostal churches that
emphasize progressive politics and community outreach. All
congregations raise the same issues, the editors maintain: changing
American religious attitudes, generational transition, race,
ethnicity. Essays in the short second volume, by the same editors
($22.50; ISBN 0-22690188-2), address these themes, building on the
data gathered in the first. A fascinating and important social
history of religion. (Kirkus Reviews)
Volume One of this two-volume study chronicles the founding, growth
and development of 12 congregations that represent the diverse
reality of local religious cultures in America. Some, like Center
Church in New Haven, Connecticut, trace their stories back to
colonial times. Others, like the Swaminarayan Hindu temple in
suburban Chicago, are recent attempts to create local religious
worlds. Ranging from congregations of Lebanese Muslims in Northern
Canada to Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, the essays convey
the distinctive character of each congregation and provide evidence
of the importance of congregations in daily life. The essays use
the particular experience of local religious communities to explore
a wide range of issues from the fate of mainline American
Protestantism to the rise of charismatic revivalism. In addition to
discussing the larger themes of American religious life, the essays
portray a variety of notable men and women.
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