DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Religious Outsiders and the Making of Americans

R Laurence Moore author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:3rd Mar '88

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Religious Outsiders and the Making of Americans cover

Throughout history, the reality of America's diverse religious life has continually been subordinated to the themes of Protestant unity and dominance. At the centre of this study are seven religious groups that are usually accorded a secondary influence on American culture: the Mormons, Catholics, Jews, Christian Scientists, Millennialists, 20th-century Protestant Fundamentalists, and the black churches. Through these groups Moore boldly shows that the conventional distinctions between what is "mainstream" and what is "marginal" in American culture are largely strategical fictions created by historians and historical actors, and that many of these "outside" groups in fact embody values that are quintessentially American. The book also examines the part that religious persecution has played in American history, and the ways in which religious groups have often turned persecution to their own advantage. The author's analysis of pluralism provides a solid and important new context for viewing America's religious past and also builds a solid historical perspective for understanding the religious cults and sects that are receiving so much attention in American life today. This is a paperback reissue of the hardback first published in 1986.

'penetrating analysis ... Moore's stimulating analysis of pluralism not only offers an important new context for viewing America's religious past; it also provides important perspectives for understanding what is happening in America today.' Month
'collection of wide-ranging and learned essays ... the book will help set the agenda for future studies ...American religious historians should anticipate with pleasure the conversations this excellent book will provoke.' Robert Orsi, Indiana University, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

ISBN: 9780195051889

Dimensions: 217mm x 141mm x 19mm

Weight: 367g

272 pages