"Moving far beyond the realm of traditional "church history," Patrick Allitt here offers a vigorous and erudite survey of the broad canvas of American religion since World War II. Identifying the major trends and telling moments within major denominations and also in less formal religious movements, he asks how these religious groups have shaped, and been shaped by, some of the most important and divisive issues and events of the last half century: the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, feminism and the sexual revolution, abortion rights, the antinuclear and environmentalist movements, and many others."--Jacket.
Setting / LocationGlobal
Story EraWWII Era
Protagonist / CoreReligion in America since 1945 Lead Character
"Brian Daizen Victoria reveals for the first time, through examination of the wartime writings of the Japanese military itself, that the Zen school's view of life and death was deliberately incorporated into the military's programme of 'spiritual education' in order to develop a fanatical military spirit in both soldiers and civilians. Furthermore, it is shown that D. T. Suzuki, the most famous exponent on Zen in the West, was a wartime proponent of this Zen-inspired viewpoint which enabled Japanese soldiers to leave for the battlefield already resigned to death. Victoria takes us on to the naval battlefield in the company of warrior-monk and Rinzai Zen Master Nakajima Genjo. We view the war in China through the eyes of a Buddhist military chaplain. The book also examines the relationship to Buddhism of Japan's seven class-A war criminals, hung by the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal in 1948." "A highly controversial study, this book will be of interest not only to those studying the history of the period, but also to anyone concerned with the perennial question of the 'proper' relationship between religion and state."--BOOK JACKET.
When he won the National Book Award in 1962 for his first novel, The Moviegoer, Walker Percy quickly established a wide and devoted following. Trained as a physician (who never practiced medicine after suffering from tuberculosis in the 1940s), Dr. Percy became a careful diagnostician of modern society in five subsequent novels and three non-fiction books. This biography, written with Percy's approval and assistance, allows his life to unfold as he lived it, with its unexpected twists and complexities. The tragic deaths of his father and mother, different in manner but close in time, were traumatic events for their teenage son. His subsequent adoption by "Uncle Will - William Alexander Percy, the noted writer and patrician - extended his cultural horizons. After his studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Columbia University's School of Medicine, he married Mary Bernice Townsend. Patrick Samway's meticulous biography tracks their conversion to Roman Catholicism and Percy's dogged determination to continue his career as a novelist and semiotician in Covington, Louisiana.
After seeing Christianity become increasingly defined in the media as a narrow and punitive political movement, Spayde began to wonder: Are religions now just combatants in the culture wars? Should he leave the organized church? How are ordinary people using faith positively to search for the truth and improve their lives?Spayde takes a journey across America that introduces him to an array of believers, eminent and obscure, who relate their personal stories of active and living faith--how they balance Jesus's love and judgment, the church's dictates, and their own free will--to live and love completely while on Earth.Here are veteran religious leaders such as John Shelby Spong, a retired Episcopal bishop who advocates a radical reform of Christian teaching that would eliminate talk of miracles and stress social justice, and Kosuke Koyana, an important Protestant voice in Asia whose firsthand knowledge of World War II horrors made him see Christ's teachings as neither liberal nor conservative but simply "care for the widow and the orphan." Spayde meets those committed to unorthodox beliefs, such as Joyce Rupp, a Catholic sister dedicated to the concept of the feminine as divine, as well as those who have for the sake of their faith drastically altered their lives, including Cynthia Williams who left a high-powered job in finance to work for a struggling inner-city church in Minneapolis, and Thien-an Dang, a Vietnamese refugee who became a top Radio Shack executive only to quit and work for a Texas ministry deeply connected to Vietnam. We're also introduced to Mary Forsythe, a self-described "train wreck for Jesus," who found the roots of her work as an evangelical preacher while serving time in prison, and hospice chaplain Anna Bradshaw, who was transformed by the "aliveness" of people near death and personally touched Spayde's life while tending to his dying mother.Spayde's odyssey brought him to a new understanding of why action is more important than the intellect in faith, how true solace is found in forging a personal relationship with God, and why worrying about one's own "worthiness" is always beside the point.This is a crucial book that reveals the different paths that can lead to the same inspiring place, a book that teaches "how to believe" in ways that honor individuality, allow for personal journeys, and spiritually enrich not just our own lives but the lives of those around us.Advance praise for How to Believe"Jon Spayde has assembled a wonderfully vivid portrait gallery of Christian faith in our times. It's a wild ride, this mystery tour across the deep divides of contemporary religion into the lives of believers and seekers. These are not 'arguments' against atheism or in favor of belief, but compelling voices of struggle and astonishment gathered by a writer of integrity on his own ardent search."--Patricia Hampl, author of The Florist's Daughter"Jon Spayde is a convivial and wise spiritual scout, who guides us in the direction of a robust Christianity that is deeply grounded in love. Along the way we meet remarkable figures from diverse religious traditions who inspire with their intelligence, insight and faith. This is the perfect book for all of us who yearn for a greater connection with the divine but still feel a little nervous walking through the church doors."--Jay Walljasper, senior editor, Ode magazine and former editorial director of Utne ReaderFrom the Hardcover edition.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt put it bluntly, if privately, in 1942-the United States was 'a Protestant country,' he said, 'and the Catholics and Jews are here under sufferance.' In Tri-Faith America, Kevin Schultz explains how the United States left behind this idea that it was 'a Protestant nation' and replaced it with a new national image, one premised on the notion that the country was composed of three separate, equally American faiths-Protestants, Catholics, and Jews. Tracing the origins of the tri-faith idea to the early twentieth century, when Catholic and Jewish immigration forced Protestant Social Gospelers to combine forces with Catholic and Jewish relief agencies, Tri-Faith America shows how the tri-faith idea gathered momentum after World War I, promoted by public relations campaigns, interfaith organizations, and the government, to the point where, by the end of World War II and into the early years of the Cold War, the idea was becoming widely accepted, particularly in the armed forces, fraternities, neighborhoods, social organizations, and schools. Challenging the image of the conformist 1950s, Schultz describes how Americans were vigorously debating the merits of recognizing pluralism, paving the way for the civil rights movement and leaving an enduring mark on American culture.
Religion in America since 1945 by Patrick Allitt | Literally Just Books
