Spirited Lives: How Nuns Shaped Catholic Culture and American Life, 1836-1920

Rating:
Summary: Careful and Readable Study of a Neglected Subject
Review: I found this book quite disappointing. It would be better categorized as a "feminist history" rather than simply as a "historical account" of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The authors' biases tainted their treatment of, and rendered a disservice to, this great group of religious women, many of whom, I am certain, will be embarrassed by this one-sided account of their life and work.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Sisters!
Review: If you are looking for a book that extolls the virtues of self-sacrifice and non-feminist heroism, and that records the profound influence of Catholicism on the American culture, you may very well enjoy this scholarly but readable book. It has 19 photographs of sisters in traditional habits. Many picture sisters working in the pre-1920 classroom, hospital, operating room, and orphanage. For the collector of books about nuns, there is a 9 page bibliography that lists other nun books. If you went to pre-Vatican II grammar school,it makes you feel grateful to those young women who educated you! Thank you, Sisters!

Rating:
Summary: a model for synthesizing sisters' and women's history
Review: In SPIRITED LIVES: HOW NUNS SHAPED CATHOLIC CULTURE AND AMERICAN LIFE, 1836-1920, authors Carol Coburn and Martha Smith have crafted a model for integrating the history of women religious into mainstream history. Their narrative is very accessible to a broad readership. Using the Sisters of Saint Joseph as a case study, Coburn and Smith examine the early contributions of sisterhoods in America to education, health care, and social services. They skillfully weave into their narrative significant points of both contrast and comparison between Catholic and Protestant women's efforts in these areas. They perceptively address such issues as women's roles in a patriarchal society as well as the complexities of female agency within the confines of communal religious life. Beginning with a history of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in pre-revolutionary France, the authors then trace the sisters' adaptations to their American environment from 1836 and their rapid development of an American identity. The CSJS' responses to both Native American and African American populations and their institutional incorporation of members from different European nationalities prove but two of the fascinating aspects of the CSJS' process of Americanization. In their presentation of the sisters' instrumentality in the development of the parochial school system and select female academies as well as the administration of hospitals and orphanages, the authors effectively highlight the evolution of the sisters' roles in these areas when principles of "scientific" benevolence, professionalization, and bureaucratization replace earlier concepts of maternity governing such institutions and services. This meticulously researched work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the impact of Catholic sisterhoods on American life during this formative period of our history.

Rating:
Summary: Very one dimensional
Review: The authors, unwittingly I'm sure, set forth a problem that has affected every religious group in the United States: the "American way" is foremost, and religious belief and practise carefully modified in a subordinate role. The accomplishments of religious Sisters are undeniable, and the book has some merit in treating of their role in a nation that was predominantly Protestant, yet the authors would leave one in the dark about the solid religious principles (ascetic, and generally misunderstood) which motivated many of those in religious life. One would think their sole purpose in life was to make people "more American."

Research is often poor, and sometimes beyond naive. For example, though any immigrant or working class kid knows better, the authors seem at their wits' end to set forth the "classless" American society and its "nobility." That the Sisters of Saint Joseph established private schools which charged tuition fees, as well as free schools, is presented as a desperate measure, to which people were opposed because of the American dislike for class. To imply that the wealthy could not bear having their children attend a private school for this reason is about as accurate as seeing nineteenth century nuns, who could not wash their handkerchiefs without permission, as having unusual freedom.

Where is the true Catholicism? I doubt the founding fathers or pilgrims would see it as compatible with the American dream.

Rating:
Summary: Careful and Readable Study of a Neglected Subject
Review: This is a very well done history of a large religious community. The authors were wise to select the Sisters of St. Joseph (CSJ) a case study of Catholic religious in the United States. CSJs are very typical of American Catholic Sisterhoods in that they had a European origin, adapted European customs to an American context, performed marvels through hard work and dedication in schools and hospitals, and were a vital force in the Americanization of immigrants.

Forget any streotypes about passivity. Leaders of many American religious communities had to be adept at church politics. Authority figures--The Bishop, The Priest, The Cardinal, had very fixed ideas about control of property, assigning of nuns to various projects, as well as gratingly petty demands. The CSJs were marvels at outfoxing some of these demanding reverend gentlemen. And, when one considers that The Bishop had the hierarchical authority of the Church as well as Victorian ideas about the submissiveness of women working on his side, the sagicity of these women is admirable.

Occasionaly, the authors compare the lives and work of the CSJs with Protestant women. I found this interesting and useful and wish the book covered the subject more thoroughly.

The authors perhaps overemphasize the freedom of the Sisters, as compared to married women. Get real. 19th century nuns lived in a ludicrously controlled world where drinking water between meals without permission was considered a fault. The fact that Sisters managed to accomplish all that they did despite rules and regulations dating from the Middle Ages is a testimony to their dedication.

I wish I had written this one!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent history of American Catholic sisterhoods.
Review: This well-written book argues persuasively that Catholic sisters, who by 1920 numbered 90,000, played a unique and powerful role in providing education, health care, and social services for the nation's immigrant and native populations. Using the experiences of a large religious community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the authors demonstrate how sisters significantly extended the "sphere of influence" of their sex and made lasting contributions to the public welfare. Coburn and Smith effectively set to rest lingering stereotypes about Catholic sisters and show graphically the diverse contributions of these women to the building of church and society in the critical 1836-1920 period. The scholarship is excellent and primary sources are used extensively. Skillful use of diaries and oral histories brings vividly to life the experiences of ordinary sisters as well as of their religious superiors. Highly recommended.