...This introductory chapter discusses how religion shapes a community or a nation. Using the state of Texas as the backdrop of this book, the chapter argues American religion cannot be understood apart from considering its reciprocal relationship with race. The familiar observation that white...

... considers how American religion evolved during the period 1740–1860, citing in particular the rise of national religious organizations. It then explores the relationship between religious events and institutions, on the one hand, and religious magazines on the other. It also describes the fragmentation...

... presents up-to-date information about religious trends in the United States, in a succinct and accessible manner. The book provides essential information about key developments in American religion since 1972, and is the first major resource of its kind to appear in more than two decades. The book looks...

...This introductory chapter presents a new perspective on how white evangelical Christians have become an important constituency for the Republican Party in the United States. Sociologist Robert Wuthnow has described this shift as part of a larger restructuring of American religion that took place...

... for several of the trends described in this chapter. As with change in American religion as a whole, trends in congregational life should be seen against the backdrop of substantial continuity, especially for the relatively brief period covered by the NCS. attendance congregations continuity Catholics...

... to be American. While some view the Constitution as the central component of an American religion that serves to unite the social order, the book maintains that its sacred role can result in conflict, fragmentation, and even war. This book takes the view that the Constitution’s value lies in the realm...

...-control, being dangerous, overzealous, a fanatic. Religion is a particularly interesting context in which to consider the display of emotion. This chapter examines how accusations of zealotry populated nineteenth- and early twentieth-century discussions of American religion. Zealotry was a contested idea...