Religion in America

Concise, yet thorough, this book introduces the vast variety of religious groups and activities—both ecclesial and popular—that make up the American religious picture in the late 1990s. It presents the academic study of religion within the context of the humanities, discussing religion in a spirit of mutual exploration and learning, rather than in terms of what is "right" and "wrong." Coverage emphasizes the current state of today's religions, paying particular attention to the religious diversity found in the United States. Topics include religion in American public life; the Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches; clergical misconduct; responding to religious diversity; studying and describing religion; consensus protestants; catholics in the United States; living a jewish life in the United States; humanism and the unitarian universalists; christianities that began in the United States; alternative themes in american christianity; ethnic christianity; muslims in the United States; hindus and buddhists in the United States; other religious and spiritual movements; and religion as an individual and cultural problem. For those interested in American and Western religions.