Religion and American Culture: A Reader

Rating:
Summary: David G. Hackett: Great Dude, Great Book.
Review: David Hackett is an unaturally gifted writer, scholar, and dude. The Reader became an instant favorite of mine upon having the desire to rekindle my days of studying the sociology of religion with Dr. Hackett at the University of Florida. Each chapter provides insight into Americans as religious folk living in a secular world. For all those interested in American religion, culture, and society; Religion and American Culture : A Reader is much more than a competent professor's ladder climbing to tenure. It is a masterwork.

Rating:
Summary: Best Possible Text
Review: I had the privilege of studying Religion and American Culture with Dr. Hackett. This text was effective in its presentation of American Religious History, and made a special effort to include scholarship that focused on forgotten/ignored aspects of American Religious History, including African-Americans, Women, and Native Americans.

While it is of the most benefit to those engaged in formal academic study, it should prove insightful to most any reader with an interest in the subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding collection of important articles.
Review: The reviewer who said that this was the best book of its kind on the subject is right. I use this book to teach a college course in Religion in America to freshmen, and they find it fascinating. While most books of articles have a few winners and a lot of articles that are not very engaging, each offering in this book is so interesting that I occasionally reread them for pleasure. Hackett and the authors of the articles have keyed in on issues central to the religious experience of Americans from many traditions.