Description
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.
About the Author
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.
Reviews
"Offers an important counterbalance to the overly simplistic atheistic challenges of Richard Dawkins and company." Publishers Weekly "A important book." -- Jerome P. Baggett Christian Century "Wuthnow writes in an accessible manner that challenges the reader to consider how Americans make sense of God... Wuthnow provides insightful and challenging research that is useful in understanding the unique paradox of American religious adherence and a commitment to reason as a matter of faith. This books serves both as a revelation of the complex rhetorical negotiation that maintains this paradox, but also provides insight into how people of faith may understand the tension that exists in their own congregations and the greater community they seek to serve." -- Joy E. A. Qualls Enrichment
Book Information
ISBN 9780520274280
Author Robert Wuthnow
Format Hardback
Page Count 344
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm
About the Author
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.
Reviews
"Offers an important counterbalance to the overly simplistic atheistic challenges of Richard Dawkins and company." Publishers Weekly "A important book." -- Jerome P. Baggett Christian Century "Wuthnow writes in an accessible manner that challenges the reader to consider how Americans make sense of God... Wuthnow provides insightful and challenging research that is useful in understanding the unique paradox of American religious adherence and a commitment to reason as a matter of faith. This books serves both as a revelation of the complex rhetorical negotiation that maintains this paradox, but also provides insight into how people of faith may understand the tension that exists in their own congregations and the greater community they seek to serve." -- Joy E. A. Qualls Enrichment
Book Information
ISBN 9780520274280
Author Robert Wuthnow
Format Hardback
Page Count 344
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm
