The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America

Over the past two decades, the writing of American religious history has finally blossomed to embrace some of the unique voices and viewpoints that have been ignored for too long. Reflecting this rich diversity of new perspectives, The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America has gathered together dozens of prestigious scholars from across the field’s generations. In a series of thought–provoking original essays, these leading contributors consider a wide range of issues relating to the presentation and explication of religious history in the United States. Topics addressed extend from religion and media to social reform; and the religious traditions explored range from Baptists and Methodists to Buddhists and Mormons. Each essay maintains an unwavering critical eye to enhance our understanding of how these subjects are discussed at different times during our history. Collectively, this groundbreaking new volume represents the most sustained effort by scholars of American religious history to provide insights into the historiography of religion and its creation within evolving political and social frameworks. Presented with clarity and eloquence, The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America provides scholars and students alike with an invaluable source of information about the diverse religious history of the United States.

Introduction by Philip Goff. List of Contributors. Interpreting American Religion. Surveying Religion in America (Philip Goff, Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis). Religion in American Society and Culture. American Revolution (Thomas Kidd, Baylor University). Borderlands (Kristy Nabhan–Warren, Augustana College). Church and State (Derek Davis, University of Mary Hardin–Baylor). Civil Religion (Ira Chernus, University of Colorado). Class and Labor ((Richard Callahan, University of Missouri). Denominations (Russell Richey, Emory University). Economics (James Hudnut–Beumler, Vanderbilt University). Family (Rebecca Davis, University of Delaware). Film (Judith Weisenfeld, Princeton University). Gender (Sarah Johnson, Gustavus Adlophus College). Health (Christopher White, Vassar College). Sensory Cultures Material and Visual Religion ((Sally Promey, Yale University and Shira Brisman, Yale University). Media (Robert Fortner, Calvin College). Millennialism (Stephen Stein, Indiana University). Missions (Wilbur Shenk, Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies). Piety, Practice, and Ritual (Kathryn Lofton, Yale University). Popular Culture (John Schmalzbauer, Missouri State University). Race and Ethnicity (Robero Trevino, University of Texas). Regions (Philip Barlow, Utah State University). Revivals (Michael McClymond, Saint Louis University). Science (William Durbin, Washington Theological Union). Social Reform (Zoe Trodd, UNC–Chapel Hill). Theology and Beliefs (Robert Brown, James Madison University). Women (Susanna Morrill, Lewis & Clark College). Traditions and Movements American Indians (Tracy Leavelle, Creighton University). Anabaptists ((David Weaver–Zercher, Messiah College). Baptists (Paul Harvey, University of Colorado). Black Church (Sylvester Johnson, Indiana University). Buddhism (Charles Prebish, Utah State University). Catholicism to 1945 (Michael Pasquier, Louisiana State University). Catholicism since 1945 (Philip Gleason, University of Notre Dame). Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints (David Whittaker, Brigham Young University). Eastern Orthodox Christianity (Amy Slagle, University of Southern Mississippi). Evangelicalism (Darren Dochuk, Purdue University). Hinduism ((Khyati Joshi, Fairleigh Dickinson University). Holiness and Pentecostalism ((Jonathan Baer, Wabash College). Islam (Edward E. Curtis IV, Indiana University–Purdue University). Judaism (Yaakov Ariel, University of North Carolina)) Lutherans (Susan McCarver, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary). New and Homegrown Religions (Sean McCloud, University of North Carolina). Protestant Liberalism (Mark Hulsether, University of Tennessee). Reformed Protestantism (Darryl Hart). Wesleyan Tradition (Christopher Evans, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School).

Philip Goff is Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture and Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. He is the author or editor of numerous books and articles, including co–editor, with Paul Harvey, of Themes in Religion and American Culture (2004) and The Columbia Documentary History of Religion in America Since 1945 (2005). For ten years he has been Senior Co–editor of Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation . Dedicated to public teaching, he has also been a scriptwriter and an interviewee on documentaries related to religion in American life for PBS, BBC, and HBO. Goff is a leading interpreter of religion’s role in contemporary American life, and has been named in Who’s Who Among Teachers , Who’s Who in America , and Who’s Who in the World .

“Overall, the historical synopses, literature reviews, and bibliographic listings contained in the essays of this volume should all prove extremely helpful to serious students of American religious history. Graduate students and scholars alike will find this book to be an accessible and useful entry point into this field of study.”  ( Journal of Religious History , 20 January 2014) “For anyone interested in knowing more about the history and present state of scholarship on religion in America, this is an invaluable work, and the place to begin one’s search.”  ( Lutheran Quarterly , 2012)