American Religions and the Family

American Religions and the Family brings together specialists focusing on families in particular religious traditions who fasten on the most urgent questions. It offers a significant contribution to the field-nowhere else can you get all this in one book. -- Martin E. Marty, University of Chicago American religion is more diverse than ever. Its bearing on social and cultural issues, especially on issues of 'the family' is a matter of lively speculation and debate, and there is very little available and accessible literature addressing the topic with respect to the full range of American religion. This book is unique. -- R. Stephen Warner, University of Illinois at Chicago A timely, important, and engaging book, American Religions and the Family explores the two core and complex social institutions that most influence identity and society. Contributors consider the responses of these cultural systems to each other and to the challenging forces of modernization. The book breaks new ground by showing how modernization and responses to it influence the most fundamental human social organizations and personal identity. This terrific book will be valuable to anyone who wants to consider how Americans understand change, faith, and family. -- Steven L. Nock, Commonwealth Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia

Studies the different ways religions have coped with the pressures of modernization in America. This work examines how these religions have confronted changing attitudes regarding the meaning and purpose of sex, the definition of marriage, the responsibility of fathers, and the status of children.Religions respond to capitalism, democracy, industrialization, feminism, individualism, and the phenomenon of globalization in a variety of ways. Some religions conform to these challenges, if not capitulate to them; some critique or resist them, and some work to transform the modern societies they inhabit. In this unique collection of critical essays, scholars of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Native American thought explore the tension between modernization and the family, sexuality, and marriage traditions of major religions in America. Contributors examine how various belief systems have confronted changing attitudes regarding the meaning and purpose of sex, the definition of marriage, the responsibility of fathers, and the status of children. They also discuss how family law in America is beginning to acknowledge certain religious traditions and how comparative religious ethics can explain and evaluate diverse family customs. Studies concerning the impact of religious thought and behavior on American society have never been more timely or important. Recent global events cannot be fully understood without comprehending how belief systems function and the many ways they can be employed to the benefit and detriment of societies. Responding to this critical need, American Religions and the Family presents a comprehensive portrait of religious cultures in America and offers secular society a pathway for appreciating religious tradition.