ePub The Dream Is Freedom: Pauli Murray and American Democratic Faith by Sarah Azaransky in History

Description

Denominationalism--that ''free market'' mode of organizing religious life which; some say; manages to combine traditional religious claims with a free society in a peculiarly American way--is the subject of the previously unpublished papers in this collection. No institution; the editors argue; is as crucial for the understanding of American religious life; yet so much in need of reassessment as the denomination. In a wide-ranging collection of articles; a distinguished set of commentators on American religion examine the denomination's past and present roles; its definable nature; and its evolution over time. The study of denominations; the authors show; sheds light on broader understandings of American religious and cultural life. The contributors--scholars of the Roman Catholic; Protestant; Jewish; Mormon; and African-American traditions--explore the state and history of denominational studies in America; suggesting new models and approaches drawn from anthropology; sociology; theology; history; and history of religions. They offer provocative case studies that reimagine denominational studies.