A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation

A study of the baby boom generation's search for meaning and values presents portraits that reveal the soul of the new generation of leaders in politics, business, and education

Religion & Spirituality

Roof, Wade Clark

Religious Studies

Harpercollins

JOHNSON, Mary

Greer, Bruce

Christian Books & Bibles

Harper-San Francisco

Community & commitment: Religious plausibility in a liberal Protestant church

Elsevier

In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clark Roof notes, such changes over the last two decades reflect a shift away from religion as traditionally understood to more diverse and creative approaches. But what does this splintering of the religious perspective say about Americans? Have we become more interested in spiritual concerns or have we become lost among trends? Do we value personal spirituality over traditional religion and no longer see ourselves united in a larger community of faith? Roof first credited this religious diversity to the baby boomers in his bestselling A Generation of Seekers (1993). He returns to interview many of these people, now in mid-life, to reveal a generation with a unique set of spiritual values--a generation that has altered our historic interpretations of religious beliefs, practices, and symbols, and perhaps even our understanding of the sacred itself.
 The quest culture created by the baby boomers has generated a "marketplace" of new spiritual beliefs and practices and of revisited traditions. As Roof shows, some Americans are exploring faiths and spiritual disciplines for the first time; others are rediscovering their lost traditions; others are drawn to small groups and alternative communities; and still others create their own mix of values and metaphysical beliefs. Spiritual Marketplace charts the emergence of five subcultures: dogmatists, born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists. Drawing on surveys and in-depth interviews for over a decade, Roof reports on the religious and spiritual styles, family patterns, and moral vision and values for each of these subcultures. The result is an innovative, engaging approach to understanding how religious life is being reshaped as we move into the next century.

Spiritual Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the Remaking of American Religion.

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Princeton University Press

In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clark Roof notes, such changes over the last two decades reflect a shift away from religion as traditionally understood to more diverse and creative approaches. But what does this splintering of the religious perspective say about Americans? Have we become more interested in spiritual concerns or have we become lost among trends? Do we value personal spirituality over traditional religion and no longer see ourselves united in a larger community of faith? Roof first credited this religious diversity to the baby boomers in his bestselling A Generation of Seekers (1993). He returns to interview many of these people, now in mid-life, to reveal a generation with a unique set of spiritual values-a generation that has altered our historic interpretations of religious beliefs, practices, and symbols, and perhaps even our understanding of the sacred itself. The quest culture created by the baby boomers has generated a "marketplace" of new spiritual beliefs and practices and of revisited traditions. As Roof shows, some Americans are exploring faiths and spiritual disciplines for the first time; others are rediscovering their lost traditions; others are drawn to small groups and alternative communities; and still others create their own mix of values and metaphysical beliefs. Spiritual Marketplace charts the emergence of five subcultures: dogmatists, born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists. Drawing on surveys and in-depth interviews for over a

Bridging Divided Worlds by Jackson W. Carroll and Wade Clark Roof-- two experts in the field of contemporary religion-- presents a comprehensive study of generational dynamics within congregations. Their groundbreaking work analyzes the crucial role the generations play in reshaping the American religious landscape. Throughout the book the authors examine current religious and spiritual trends and reveal how these changes can offer opportunities for enriching a congregation's faith and spiritual life. Bridging Divided Worlds offers an insightful analysis of how congregations have historically adapted to change and reveals how various contemporary groups of congregants have dealt with change in recent years. For example, the authors profile three types of congregations: inherited congregations (practices are guided by the past); blended congregations (practices honor inherited tradition and are attentive to generational diversity); and generation-specific congregations (practices are tailored to the needs of a particular generation). With these profiles the authors provide commentary on the strengths and weaknesses of each. In addition to its wealth of information and commentary, this indispensable resource shows how congregations are discovering ways to bridge the gaps and connect the different worlds the generations inhabit to create stronger, richer, and more vibrant religious communities.

Bridging Divided Worlds: Generational Cultures in Congregations

Carroll, Jackson W.

Jossey-Bass Inc Pub

This is the first book to offer a comparative analysis of the impact of the post-war ”Baby Boom” generation on Christianity around the world. Taking a cross-cultural approach, the contributors examine ten advanced countries, including England, France, Germany, Australia, and the United States, and explore the ways baby boomers have helped reshape and redefine ”establishment religions” that is, the dominant, primarily Christian institutions. Their conclusions are broad and far-reaching, shedding light on the fate of religion in other countries now modernizing and those countries moving through the modern to the postmodern. Sociologists, historians, and scholars of religion will profit from the insights put forth here on religion in a postmodern context.

The Post-war Generation And The Establishment Of Religion

History

Roozen, David A.

World

Perseus

Roof, Wade Clark, Carroll, Jackson W, Roozen, David A

The Post-War Generation and Establishment Religion: Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Westview Press

Wade Clark Roof and William McKinney argue that a new voluntarism is slowly eroding the old social and economic boundaries that once defined and separated religious groups and is opening new cleavages along moral and life-style lines. Nowhere has the impact of these changes been more profoundly felt than by the often-overlooked religious communities of the American center, or mainline--Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish. "American Mainline Religion" provides a new "mapping" of the families of American religion and the underlying social, cultural, and demographic forces that will reshape American religion in the century to come. Going beyond the headlines in daily newspapers, Roof and McKinney document the decline of the Protestant establishment, the rise of a more assimilated and public-minded Roman Catholicism, the place of black Protestantism and Judaism, and the resurgence of conservative Protestantism as a religious and cultural force.

American Mainline Religion: Its Changing Shape and Future

Literature & Fiction

McKinney, William

History & Criticism

Rutgers University Press

Community and Commitment

Pilgrim Pr

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Books by Roof, Wade Clark