Contemporary American Religion: An Ethnographic Reader

by Shoshanah Feher, Matthew P. Lawson, Edward R. Gray

No single narrative or theory can describe the varieties of religious experience in North America today. The tidy dichotomies of liberal/ conservative, public/private, local/global, and renewal/secularization make little sense once specific congregations are examined closely. To understand the shifting boundaries of contemporary religious expressions, new tools are needed.
Contemporary American Religion collects qualitative, on-the-ground studies of local congregations by up-and-coming religious scholars. Ethnography combined with more traditional sociological methods, help make sense of complex religious communities―from Messianic Jews to evangelical feminists, from Gospel Hour at a gay bar to exurban megachurches. This collection covers a wide span of the religious landscape, always trying to uncover new theoretical insights. Essential reading for classes in sociology of religion, contemporary American religion, and anthropology of religion.

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 1997

Reviews

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Sociology of Religion Course

[James Randal Augustine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for class. Really good series of essays about how traditional American religions are clashing with modernity. Great book for if you want to learn how to write an ethnography essay.