America Religions and Religion 5th by Catherine L. Albanese

America Religions and Religion 5th by Catherine L. Albanese ISBN-13: 9781133050025 ISBN-10: 1133050026 Much has happened in the American religious world in just the five years since the fourth edition of America: Religions and Religion appeared in print. The M ormons now constitute the fourth largest American denomination; the Southern Baptists have declined in membership for the third year in a row; the ?Nones? (not C atholic sisters but people declaring no religious affiliation) have grown steadily and, for many observers, astonishingly; there is one Shaker less in the last surviving Shaker community in Maine; ?holy unions? have become ?same-sex marriages?; and a generation is now half-grown that does not personally remember September 11, 2001. Meanwhile, American civil religion has taken a new turn with the election of the nation?s first African American president; Oprah Winfrey has been a national presence as she teaches new spirituality; an ?emerging church? has grown stronger as it engages with postmodernity; and Protestants, according to some pollsters, have dipped below half of the church-going public. This new edition pays attention to the changes. Throughout the text, material has been updated and new information supplied as relevant. An expanded section examines Islam and its presence in the twenty-first century against the frame of Islam?s global reach and, thus, Islamic pluralism here in the United States. M aterial on developments as different as the growth of Protestant megachurches, Roman Catholic Womenpriests, and Jewish movements that take their inspiration from the Kabbalah has been added. Although Oprah Winfrey is not to be found in the chapters that follow, the previous edition?s section on new spirituality has been enlarged and systematized to a greater extent. It has also been coordinated with a new section on the emerging church. Even as new spirituality moves out from the New Age movement, the emerging church takes a significant point of departure from conservative Protestant ranks. Both movements?new spirituality and the emerging church?soften the boundaries of earlier movements and combine with aspects of general American culture in interesting and instructive ways.