A major survey of the dramatic changes to American religious life in the decades after World War II
In this book, Robert Wuthnow gathers a vast amount of information into a narrative that answers numerous questions about the clash of religion and politics in the United States during the postwar era. In particular, he deciphers the growing polarization of religious liberals and religious conservatives, a serious division that generated conflicting claims about religion's public role. While doing so, he reveals much about the character of American life more broadly.
This period witnessed the declining significance of denominationalism and the growth of hundreds of new special purpose groups representing more narrowly defined religious interests. Major denominations suffered serious membership losses, and conservative forces abandoned earlier separatist strategies and forged a significant cross-denominational movement.
Beginning by reconstructing the social and cultural milieu of religion in the immediate postwar period, Wuthnow goes on to trace the impact of concurrent developments such as the sharp growth in higher education, the expansion of the bureaucratic welfare state, and the unrest of the 1960s. The Restructuring of American Religion concludes by placing these changes in an interpretive framework that provides enduring insights into today's conflicts between church and state.
| ISBN: | 9780691020570 |
| Publication date: | 1st July 1992 |
| Author: | Robert Wuthnow |
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 374 pages |
| Series: | Studies in Church and State |
| Genres: |
Social groups: religious groups and communities Social and cultural history |
A major survey of the dramatic changes to American religious life in the decades after World War II
In this book, Robert Wuthnow gathers a vast amount of information into a narrative that answers numerous questions about the clash of religion and politics in the United States during the postwar era. In particular, he deciphers the growing polarization of religious liberals and religious conservatives, a serious division that generated conflicting claims about religion's public role. While doing so, he reveals much about the character of American life more broadly.
This period witnessed the declining significance of denominationalism and the growth of hundreds of new special purpose groups representing more narrowly defined religious interests. Major denominations suffered serious membership losses, and conservative forces abandoned earlier separatist strategies and forged a significant cross-denominational movement.
Beginning by reconstructing the social and cultural milieu of religion in the immediate postwar period, Wuthnow goes on to trace the impact of concurrent developments such as the sharp growth in higher education, the expansion of the bureaucratic welfare state, and the unrest of the 1960s. The Restructuring of American Religion concludes by placing these changes in an interpretive framework that provides enduring insights into today's conflicts between church and state.
The Restructuring of American Religion features in the following genres: Social groups: religious groups and communities, Social and cultural history
The Restructuring of American Religion is available in Paperback
The Restructuring of American Religion was written by Robert Wuthnow and published by Princeton University Press
The Restructuring of American Religion has 374 pages
Yes it is part of Studies in Church and State series