"The Origins of the Young Israel of Brookline and the Contest for 'Modern Orthodoxy'" (original) (raw)

Review: \u27Religion in America Since 1945: A History\u27

2004

Anyone who has taught a course in U.S. religious history knows the daunting challenge of adequately dealing with the riotous diversity of religion in America. This challenge moves from daunting to nearly overwhelming when one gets to the years after World War II. But now comes along Patrick Allitt, professor of history at Emory University, who, in Religion in America Since 1945, has managed to create out of this apparent chaos a lucid, compelling narrative of recent U.S. religious history. Of course, and as Allitt observes in his introduction, in order to “prevent the book from taking the form of a mere list or set of encyclopedia entries” he is forced to give only passing attention to “vast areas of American religious history” (p. xiii). Readers will be thankful that the author chose to be selective, as the result is a coherent, graceful account. It thus may be the worst sort of academic quibbling to suggest that the book could have benefited from more attention to mainline Protest...

Uncommon Unity: The Promise of American Civil Religion, Post-Pluralism

In 1967, Robert Bellah formulated the concept of American Civil Religion (ACR) to help explicate what it means to be an American. Underlying ACR is the premise that a common civil religion unifies Americans. With that premise, ACR’s value – and its viability - depends on the relationship of ACR, pluralism, and national unity. Starting with an assumption that ACR’s considerable value has not yet run its course, this thesis asks, “What factors, issues, and assumptions must be addressed and perhaps modified for American Civil Religion to a remain a credible descriptor of a common American identity?” After categorizing and surveying three threads of ACR scholarship, the thesis examines the data supporting America’s increasingly religious pluralism and assesses it in the context of ACR. The thesis then analyzes the data that suggests that pluralism and ACR are negatively correlated. That is, as pluralism increases, the strength of ACR decreases. Against that backdrop, the thesis returns to the three threads of ACR scholarship and discusses each scholarly trend as a response to increased pluralism. The thesis concludes by reviewing current attempts to change or replace ACR. It argues for keeping the framework that Bellah established in his original conception, while revisiting each of ACR’s attributes to account for a more pluralistic America.

Contemporary Religious Changes in the U.S.: Responses to the Fracturing of Religious Life

Religions

The purpose of this essay is to explore the changing religious landscape of the United States in relation to social and political changes and how scholars of religion ought to respond to those changes. These changes are being evaluated through recent developments in theological narratives of the last 15 years in light of the data provided by the Pew Forum’s Religious Landscape Survey from 2007 and 2014. Special attention is paid to the impact of the 2016 election on social and political narratives and their impact on religious life and religious narratives. The essay argues that scholars of religion have an important voice in this changing landscape to provide tools for building community in diversity and challenging narratives of exclusion that seek to dominate the religious landscape of the United States.

Restructuring of American Religion: Further Evidence

Sociological Inquiry, 1996

Data are analyzed from three national surveys conducted in 1984, 1989, and 1992, supplemented by other data from a 1991 and a 1992 survey, to examine the distribution of religious conservatives, moderates, and liberals, and to consider the social and ideological correlates of these religious orientations. The results suggest overall stability in the distribution of these orientations and offer modest support for status group, religious socialization, and religious organization interpretations of their sources. The results also indicate that religious views correspond with positions on a number of contested social policy issues, but cast doubt on arguments about deeper differences in worldview and moral perspectives. The ways in which the data support and help to refine arguments presented in The Restrucruring of American Religion are discussed.

Chris Beneke, Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism

Journal of Religion, 2008

... L. Holmes, William Lee Miller, Thomas Curry, James Hutson, and Frank Lambert might leave one wondering whether there is anything left to discover about religion and politics in eighteenth‐century America. How refreshing, then, to read Chris Beneke's Beyond Toleration ...