Religion and American Culture

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Overview and Strong Thesis
Review: George Marsden's Religion and American Culture is a strong contribution in the field of American cultural history. In this brief work, Marsden sets out to examine the complex relationship between religion and American culture and what each tells us about the other. Marsden's thesis is that America's identity as a religious nation has always co-existed with a strong inclination towards the secular. Sometimes this mix of the sacred and secular has been peaceful. Other times this mix has created great tensions. Often times, however, the mixture of the religious and the secular has gone unnoticed as the secularization is driven by groups or individuals with religious motivations. Marsden describes how this uniquely American process leads to the irony of a highly secular culture made up of (self-described) highly religious individuals. Following the dominant stream of American Protestantism from its origins in the English Reformation and the accompanying political context, Marsden sets out to explore how the relationship of the religious and the secular has progressed from the pragmatism of the founding fathers, to the cultural declension of the present day. Marsden's method is quite strong. For the most part, Marsden allows the content of history to guide his framework as opposed to forcing his framework on the historical data he examines. For example, Marsden divides the book into historical periods but within each section he subdivides by topics. Sometimes this arrangement follows a chronological pattern, at other times it does not. The arrangement of the book allows the reader to examine each period of American history in light of Marsden's thesis about the complex relationship between the religious and the secular. Marsden tells the story of American history but he does it based upon the development of religion and culture not based upon events. Marsden also shows his strength as a historian in another way. Marsden laments the fact that "most historians have dwelt almost solely upon the secular" developments and motivations within American history. According to Marsden, this is not only philosophically unfair but also epistemologically risky. As an unapologetic evangelical teaching at strongly Catholic university, the reader should not be surprised that Marsden brings his confessional identity to the fore from the very first page. Marsden argues that the religious self-understandings of the groups and individuals that make up American culture can be a highly useful tool in interpreting the whole of American history. In a sense, then, Marsden provides the reader a brief cultural history of the United States. The reader comes away not only knowing more about religion in America, but about the history of the United States as a whole. The strongest part of the book, however, is that Marsden is content not to relax the inherent tension in the interplay between religion and culture. From the very first pages, Marsden confronts the reader with irony, paradox, division, and dissent. For example, Marsden details how the influx of massive numbers of foreign-born Catholics influenced American culture in the 19th century. Many of these Catholics left nations where the Catholic Church was the established church, but they entered an American culture where Protestantism was the dominant religious culture. The tension that developed between the dominant Protestants, still fearful of the power and influence of the Catholic church, and the immigrant Catholics had a profound impact on American poltical culture and Marsden helps display such ironies and tensions effectively throughout his book. In summary, Marsden helps the reader to better grasp the tremendous complexity of the relationship between religion, politics, and culture in American history. Furthermore, Marsden does so while striking a wonderful balance between his own unapologetic endorsement of the value of religion in the development of American cultural life and the neccesity of providing a well-researched and documented history for the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Overview and Strong Thesis
Review: George Marsden's Religion and American Culture is a strong contribution in the field of American cultural history. In this brief work, Marsden sets out to examine the complex relationship between religion and American culture and what each tells us about the other. Marsden's thesis is that America's identity as a religious nation has always co-existed with a strong inclination towards the secular. Sometimes this mix of the sacred and secular has been peaceful. Other times this mix has created great tensions. Often times, however, the mixture of the religious and the secular has gone unnoticed as the secularization is driven by groups or individuals with religious motivations. Marsden describes how this uniquely American process leads to the irony of a highly secular culture made up of (self-described) highly religious individuals. Following the dominant stream of American Protestantism from its origins in the English Reformation and the accompanying political context, Marsden sets out to explore how the relationship of the religious and the secular has progressed from the pragmatism of the founding fathers, to the cultural declension of the present day. Marsden's method is quite strong. For the most part, Marsden allows the content of history to guide his framework as opposed to forcing his framework on the historical data he examines. For example, Marsden divides the book into historical periods but within each section he subdivides by topics. Sometimes this arrangement follows a chronological pattern, at other times it does not. The arrangement of the book allows the reader to examine each period of American history in light of Marsden's thesis about the complex relationship between the religious and the secular. Marsden tells the story of American history but he does it based upon the development of religion and culture not based upon events. Marsden also shows his strength as a historian in another way. Marsden laments the fact that "most historians have dwelt almost solely upon the secular" developments and motivations within American history. According to Marsden, this is not only philosophically unfair but also epistemologically risky. As an unapologetic evangelical teaching at strongly Catholic university, the reader should not be surprised that Marsden brings his confessional identity to the fore from the very first page. Marsden argues that the religious self-understandings of the groups and individuals that make up American culture can be a highly useful tool in interpreting the whole of American history. In a sense, then, Marsden provides the reader a brief cultural history of the United States. The reader comes away not only knowing more about religion in America, but about the history of the United States as a whole. The strongest part of the book, however, is that Marsden is content not to relax the inherent tension in the interplay between religion and culture. From the very first pages, Marsden confronts the reader with irony, paradox, division, and dissent. For example, Marsden details how the influx of massive numbers of foreign-born Catholics influenced American culture in the 19th century. Many of these Catholics left nations where the Catholic Church was the established church, but they entered an American culture where Protestantism was the dominant religious culture. The tension that developed between the dominant Protestants, still fearful of the power and influence of the Catholic church, and the immigrant Catholics had a profound impact on American poltical culture and Marsden helps display such ironies and tensions effectively throughout his book. In summary, Marsden helps the reader to better grasp the tremendous complexity of the relationship between religion, politics, and culture in American history. Furthermore, Marsden does so while striking a wonderful balance between his own unapologetic endorsement of the value of religion in the development of American cultural life and the neccesity of providing a well-researched and documented history for the reader.