Religion In America Since 1945

Identifying the major trends and telling moments within both major denominations and other less formal religious movements, Allitt asks how these religious groups have shaped, and been shaped by, some of the most important and divisive political issues and events of the last half century, including the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, feminism and the sexual revolution, abortion rights, and the antinuclear and environmentalist movements.

Library Journal

Allitt (history, Emory Univ.) presents an overview of religion in America from the end of World War II to the post-9/11 era. Each of the chapters deals with influential aspects of the period in overlapping chronological order (e.g., Chapter 6, "Alternative Religious Worlds 1967-1982"; Chapter 7, "Evangelicals and Politics 1976-1990"). Allitt presents the main events, trends, and movements within the religious world as well as the connection between religion and the major issues in national life at the time. Strongly influenced by such sociologists and historians as Robert Wuthnow, Peter Berger, and R. Laurence Moore, the author proposes that during this time America's religious situation changed to one of "greater diversity and greater politicization even though the separation between church and state is stronger than ever." Much has been written about religion in the late 20th century, but few books examine the entire period. As a general survey, this one is accurate and readable enough to interest informed readers at many levels. Recommended for academic and public libraries.-C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., Lafayette, IN Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Patrick Allitt is professor of history at Emory University. He is the author of Catholic Intellectuals and Conservative Politics in America, 1950-1985, Catholic Converts: British and American Intellectuals Turn to Rome, and the editor of Major Problems in American Religious History.