Popular religion rarely expresses itself in the artifacts of "high" culture. In this book, Lippy approaches the study of popular religion by asking how ordinary people have gone about the process of being religious in America. Along the way, he examines popular religious periodicals, newspapers, novels, diaries, devotional materials, hymnals, promotional materials for revivals and camp meetings, religious tracts, as well as vernacular art and architecture, other artifacts, and, especially in the 20th century, radio, film, and television. He avoids the traditional focus on religious movements and institutions, choosing instead to illuminate the cultural impact of what people in America think and do when they are being religious by highlighting aspects of private life.

Lippy makes a case for the importance of exploring popular religion if one is to understand the dynamics of modern religious life. The first annotated bibliography on the subject, this work features over 550 entries topically arranged. Lippy provides a critical assessment of the state of the study of popular religion, including an examination of theoretical materials that wrestle with trying to define precisely what popular religion is. This book is of interest to scholars, students, and anyone concerned with understanding today's religion. The bulk of the work consists of critical annotations of books, articles, and dissertations that deal with various aspects of popular religion in the United States from 1870 to the present. The topics covered include background studies, biographical works, titles dealing with fundamentalism and evangelicalism, expressions of popular religion in the arts, the use of mass media, and personal spirituality. The work is of great importance as long as Americans engage in the human quest to make sense out of their own experience and look beyond themselves to a supernatural realm that will assist them in ordering their lives.

Those familiar with the uneven quality of existing biographies and autobiographies of modern American religious celebrities will be especially grateful for the critical comments and reliable information in this engaging volume. "Choice"

Despite its pervasive influence, popular or non-official religion in twentieth-century America has been largely ignored by scholars. This book is the first biographical reference to be published on the subject. It examines the lives and careers of more than sixty notable individuals who have helped to shape popular religious sentiment in this century, including radio and television preachers, inspirational writers, gospel songwriter-performers, mass revivalists, and leaders of religious movements that cut across denominational lines.

In his introduction, Lippy discusses the eclectic and individualistic character of popular religion, its impact on American attitudes and behavior, and critical approaches to interpreting and understanding it. Each essay offers a brief biography followed by a critical appraisal of the contribution of the subject and an assessment of relevant literature. Entries conclude with a selective bibliography. Cross-referencing and a comprehensive index are supplied. Combining the efforts of more than forty scholars, Lippy's book is the first to give us a clear picture of the many different kinds of people who have left their mark on popular religious consciousness in the twentieth century. A useful reference for American studies, American religious history, popular culture studies, and related areas, this volume will also be of interest to general readers.

Introducing American Religion provides a lively and concise overview of the historical development of religion in the USA. In four parts, Charles Lippy traces the history of American religion from Europe, Native American and African life, through to the age of independence, and on to the late twentieth century up to the present day.

The narrative lays particular stress on the development of diversity and pluralism in American religious life. It explores the African American experience through slavery, Roman Catholic and Jewish immigration, political and economic factors, the impact of Latino culture, and the growth of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the concept of American civil religion. Introducing American Religion is ideal reading for students wishing to develop a broad understanding of American religious history. Illustrated throughout and featuring quotations from original sources, it includes text boxes, summary charts, study questions, a glossary and lists of further reading and weblinks to aid students with revision.

The accompanying website for this book can be found at www/routledge.com/textbooks/9780415448598. Features of the website include a hyperlinked and annotated primary source bibliography (of primary sources named in the book and accompanying page numbers), a list of online audiovisual resources, test questions, a study skills section, PowerPoints on key chapters, additional images, tables and charts of statistics on American religion, links to online libraries and archives, a regularly updated blog.

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The different facets of American religious life are more thoroughly understood with an awareness of the Evangelical heritage that intersects the different denominational boundaries. Since Evangelicalism is not confined to one religious denomination or group, it has associations with a number of American religious movements such as Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, the Charismatic Movement, and Revivalism. This study, modeled after the popular "Greenwood Denominations in America series," analyzes the people, institutions, and the religious culture of modern American Evangelicals. Divided into three sections the book presents a history of American Evangelicalism, discusses themes and issues in modern American Evangelicalism, and provides a biographical dictionary of modern American Evangelical leaders.

The combination of critical narrative and reference will appeal to religion scholars and American culture scholars alike. Separate bibliographies unique to the history section and to the themes and issues section provide valuable resources for further research. Equally helpful is the bibliographic material that completes each entry in the biographical dictionary section of the book. The three part organization makes this an accessible research tool, clearly organized for easy cross referencing.

This acclaimed work surveys the varied course of religious life in modern America. Beginning with the close of the Victorian Age, it moves through the shifting power of Protestantism and American Catholicism and into the intense period of immigration and pluralism that has characterized our nation's religious experience.

This book provides a fresh, engaging multi-disciplinary introduction to religion in contemporary America. The chapters explore the roots of contemporary American religion from the 1950s up to the present day, looking at the major traditions including mainline Protestantism, the evangelical-pentecostal surge, Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religions and new religious movements. The authors ask whether Americans are becoming less religious, and how religious thought has moved from traditional systematic theology to approaches such as black and feminist theology and environmental theology. The book introduces religion and social theory, and explores key issues and themes such as: religion and social change; politics; gender; sexuality; diversity; race and poverty. Students and instructors will find the combination of historical and sociological perspectives an invaluable aid to understanding this fascinating but complex field.

This acclaimed work surveys the varied course of religious life in modern America. Beginning with the close of the Victorian Age, it moves through the shifting power of Protestantism and American Catholicism and into the intense period of immigration and pluralism that has characterized our nation's religious experience.

Introducing American Religion provides a lively and concise overview of the historical development of religion in the USA. In four parts, Charles Lippy traces the history of American religion from Europe, Native American and African life, through to the age of independence, and on to the late twentieth century up to the present day. The narrative lays particular stress on the development of diversity and pluralism in American religious life. It explores the African American experience through slavery, Roman Catholic and Jewish immigration, political and economic factors, the impact of Latino culture, and the growth of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the concept of American civil religion. Introducing American Religion is ideal reading for students wishing to develop a broad understanding of American religious history. Illustrated throughout and featuring quotations from original sources, it includes text boxes, summary charts, study questions, a glossary and lists of further reading and weblinks to aid students with revision. The accompanying website for this book can be found at www/routledge.com/textbooks/9780415448598. Features of the website include a hyperlinked and annotated primary source bibliography (of primary sources named in the book and accompanying page numbers), a list of online audiovisual resources, test questions, a study skills section, PowerPoints on key chapters, additional images, tables and charts of statistics on American religion, links to online libraries and archives, a regularly updated blog.

This book provides a fresh, engaging multi-disciplinary introduction to religion in contemporary America. The chapters explore the roots of contemporary American religion from the 1950s up to the present day, looking at the major traditions including mainline Protestantism, the evangelical-pentecostal surge, Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religions and new religious movements. The authors ask whether Americans are becoming less religious, and how religious thought has moved from traditional systematic theology to approaches such as black and feminist theology and environmental theology. The book introduces religion and social theory, and explores key issues and themes such as: religion and social change; politics; gender; sexuality; diversity; race and poverty. Students and instructors will find the combination of historical and sociological perspectives an invaluable aid to understanding this fascinating but complex field.

Popular religion rarely expresses itself in the artifacts of high culture. In this book, Lippy approaches the study of popular religion by asking how ordinary people have gone about the process of being religious in America. Along the way, he examines popular religious periodicals, newspapers, novels, diaries, devotional materials, hymnals, promotional materials for revivals and camp meetings, religious tracts, as well as vernacular art and architecture, other artifacts, and, especially in the 20th century, radio, film, and television. He avoids the traditional focus on religious movements and institutions, choosing instead to illuminate the cultural impact of what people in America think and do when they are being religious by highlighting aspects of private life.