Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture

by Mark Oppenheimer

A witty and provocative reappraisal of the impact of the cultural upheavals of the sixties on American religious life

What happened to American religion during the cultural revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s? The era has long been associated with the ascendancy of Eastern religions and fringe cults. But in this provocative book, Mark Oppenheimer demonstrates that contrary to conventional wisdom, most Americans did not turn on, tune in, and drop out of mainstream religious groups during the Age of Aquarius. Instead, many Americans brought the counterculture with them to their churches and temples, changing the face of American religion.

Introducing us to America’s first gay ministers and first female priests, to hippie Jews and folk-singing Catholics, Oppenheimer demonstrates that this was an era of extraordinary religious vitality. Drawing on a rich range of archival material as well as interviews with many of the protagonists, Knocking on Heaven’s Door offers a wry and iconoclastic reappraisal of the ways in which the upheavals of the sixties changed America’s relationship with God.

Genres: Religion

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2003

About the author

Mark Oppenheimer is a freelance writer. He is a staff writer for the Christian Century and has written for many publications, including Harper’s, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Yale Review, the Hartford Courant, Playboy, and Slate. He has taught at Wesleyan and Stanford universities.

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

this and sex in the heartland were recommended to me. i thought it was well written but nothing was said that you wouldnt already know....

[Ethan Unklesbay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mediocre writing.
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