A New Religious America: How a Christian Country Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 432 pages
• Published by: HarperOne May 28, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0060621591
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0060621599
• Book Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 15.2 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Eck, professor of comparative religion at Harvard University, delivers a stunning tour de force that may forever change the way Americans claim to be "one nation, under God." Drawing on her work with the Pluralism Project, an ongoing study of religious diversity in the United States, Eck focuses here on the explosion of Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist communities in America, particularly since 1965. How has the growth of these religions changed the American landscape? And just as important, how are the religions themselves changing because of America? Eck's travels take her (and us) to major cities, but also to places such as Greenville, S.C.; Portland, Maine; and Toledo, Ohio. Eck is a highly skilled ethnographer who delicately balances the challenge of interpreting events while also participating in them. The success of this portrait lies in the details: in the Nikes and Reeboks that adorn the shoe racks in Sikh gurdwaras, Islamic mosques and Hindu temples; in the Muslim Girl Scout who promises to "serve Allah and my country"; in the consecration rituals at a Massachusetts Hindu temple, where the waters of India's sacred Ganges River are mixed with the Mississippi and poured freely over the building. Eck does far more than simply document the presence of religious diversity in America; she places it in historical context and illustrates the ongoing challenges it presents by describing legal battles and pivotal court cases. The last chapters address the rise of religiously motivated hate crimes and, conversely, the innovative ways some communities have welcomed religious pluralism. This is not just a book; it is a celebration. Agent, Jill Kneerim at Palmer & Dodge.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
America has always been a fundamentally Christian or "Judaeo-Christian" country with a few atheists and agnostics included. We're a secular, pluralist polity within that framework or so the received opinion goes. But in this wide-ranging book, Eck (religious studies, Harvard) shows us that this received opinion is erroneous. The framework is now, and in fact has always been, much broader. Eck discusses the history in America of three religious traditions with large numbers of adherents: Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Islam, she shows, arrived with African slaves. Buddhism and Hinduism came early as well, with the first Asian immigrants to the West Coast. These faiths are growing rapidly because of recent changes in our immigration laws and political turmoil in much of Asia, and thus our sense of religious pluralism requirements to broaden. Well written and thorough, this volume will appeal especially to scholars, but casual readers will find much to enlighten them. Warmly recommended for both academic and public libraries. James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation (Hardcover) This book could have been a winner, and in many ways, it still is. There is no doubt that America has changed and is now home to the most pluralistic religious environment in the world. Eck has done a great job researching the growth of American Hindus, American Buddhists and American Muslims throughout the United States. Her anecdotes about visiting many of these congregations and the observations she has are very interesting and informative. Overall, I can't give the book that great of a rating because Dr. Eck is so caught up in the astounding growth of these religions that she often fails to utter a negativeabout any of them. Now I realize that every reviewer brings their own biases, and in my case, I'm very suspicious of any organized religion. While I respect the power of religion to do an incredible amount of good in this world, on Spet. 11, we also saw the amount of evil that can be accomplished "in the name of God." While this book was written before Sept. 11, she turns a blind eye to the bad side of religion. For example, would the keepers of Islam's most holy places welcome an independent woman like Eckk in Saudi Arabia? Another example of this problem is in her description of the Hare Krishna movement. Finally, she recounts in a very sypmathetic manner, how some Islamic groups claimed government harassment when they were accused of financially supporting Hamas. Overall, I have no problem with Islam, or Hindus or Buddhists. I just think that when criticism of these religions is warranted, it should be mentioned just as it should be with Christianity. The idea of religious plurality and tolerance is a great goal, the problem is that many religions are intolerant by nature, and Eck fails to bring that up in her book. Finally, at the end of the book Eck recounts a news story from Garden Grove, California and quotes the city's Mayor. Garden Grove is a city of more than 150,000 people and it is one of the nation's most diverse cities. The Mayor, whose name is Bruce Broadwater, is identified in the book as Paul Brockwater. That kind of sloppiness in a scholarly publication is disheartening and it makes me wonder if similar mistakes were made regarding others with whom I am not as familiar. In suumary, this is an important subject which needs further study. This book is helpful in providing a surface-level anecdotal approach to religious pluralism but is also a failed opportunity to achieve more.