The United States is one of the most highly educated societies on earth, and also one of the most religious. In
The God Problem, Robert Wuthnow examines how middle class Americans juggle the seemingly paradoxical relationship between faith and reason.
Based on exceptionally rich and candid interviews with approximately two hundred people from various faiths, this book dispels the most common explanations: that Americans are adept at keeping religion and intellect separate, or that they are a nation of ‘joiners.’ Instead, Wuthnow argues, we do this—not by coming up with rational proofs for the existence of God—but by adopting subtle usages of language that keep us from making unreasonable claims about God. In an illuminating narrative that reveals the complex negotiations many undertake in order to be religious in the modern world, Wuthnow probes the ways of talking that occur in prayers, in discussions about God, in views of heaven, in understandings of natural catastrophes and personal tragedies, and in attempts to reconcile faith with science.
Tabella dei contenuti
Preface
Introduction
One. Dangerous Dogma
Two. Talking to God
Three. Big Scary Catastrophes
Four. Heaven Is a Wonderful Place
Five. Jesus Sets You Free
Six. Billions of Galaxies
Seven. Conclusion: Don’t Be Spooky or Weird
Appendix
Selected Bibliography
Index
Circa l’autore
Robert Wuthnow is Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and Director of the Princeton University Center for the Study of Religion. Among his books are After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s and Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches, both from UC Press.
Altri ebook dello stesso autore / Editore
146.331 Ebook in questa categoria
