American Spiritualities: A Reader

Book Summary

American SpiritualitiesA Reader Edited by Catherine L.Albanese Readings that explore approaches to Americanspirituality, past and present. This reader explores currentinterest in spirituality in the United States. It traces the concept and presence ofspirituality in the nation's past and explains the strong attraction to spiritualthemes in the present, with attention to questions of definition, historical usage, and connection to religion. Twenty-seven selections pursue the difference anddiversity among Americans in terms of their spiritual styles, here understood asmodes of experiential knowledge. Catherine L. Albanese has organized theseselections to reflect four approaches to spirituality: knowing through the body, orritual-based spiritualities; knowing through the heart, or evangelical andemotionally toned spiritualities; knowing through the will, or prophetic andsocial-action spiritualities; and knowing through the mind, or metaphysicallyoriented spiritualities. Taken together, these essays make the argument that thespiritual is human-made, essentially religious, and surely not the same at allAmerican times and places. The anthology includes selections byCatherine L. Albanese, Janet and Robert Aldridge, Daniel Berrigan, Joseph EpesBrown, Charles W. Colson, Annie Dillard, Virgilio Elizondo, Tamar Frankiel, EmmaGoldman, Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe, B. K. S. Iyengar, Curtis D. Johnson, MartinLuther King, Jr., Chen Kung, Jerena Lee, Shirley MacLaine, Aimee Semple McPherson, Thomas Merton, Carry A. Nation, E. Burke Rochford, Jr., Jerry Rubin, Molly Rush, Starhawk, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Trine, Joachim Wach, B. Alan Wallace, Steven Wilhelm, and Dhyani Ywahoo. Catherine L. Albanese isProfessor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sheis the author of the widely used textbook America: Religions and Religion, now inits third edition, and of numerous other articles and books, including NatureReligion in America: From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age. Albanese is a formerpresident of the American Academy of Religion. April 2001552pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, bibl., index cloth 0-253-33839-5 $65.00 L /50.00paper 0-253-21432-7 $27.50 s / 21.00 ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart One: Knowing through theBody: The Path of Ritual1. "Ritual Sites in the Narrative of AmericanReligion"/Tamar Frankiel2. "The Ordinances of Public Worship"/Charles E.Hambrick-Stowe3. "Popular Religion as the Core of Cultural Identity Based on theMexican American Experiencein the United States"/Virgilio Elizondo4. "Thought, Speech, Action: Rhythms of Jewish Life"/Tamar Frankiel5. "Wiwanyag Wachipi: The SunDance"/Joseph Epes Brown, ed.6. "The Coven"/StarhawkPart Two: Knowing through theHeart: The Path of Feeling and Emotion7. "The Second Birth"/Curtis D. Johnson8. "TheLife and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee"/Jarena Lee9. "Girlhood and Salvationand the Baptism of the Holy Spirit"/Aimee Semple McPherson, 10. "An UnforgettableNight"/Charles W. Colson 11. "est"/Jerry Rubin, 12. "Surrendering to Krishna: Devi'sStory"/E. Burke Rochford, Jr. Part Three: Knowing through the Will: The Path ofProphecy and Social Action 13. "The Reformer" and "The Prophet"/Joachim Wach 14."Resistance to Civil Government"/Henry David Thoreau 15. "The Divine Call"/Carry A.Nation 16. Living My Life (excerpt)/Emma Goldman 17. "Letter from BirminghamJail"/Martin Luther King, Jr. 18. Testimonies/Janet and Robert Aldridge, Molly Rush, and Daniel BerriganPart Four: Knowing through the Mind: The Path of Metaphysics 19."The Subtle Energies of Spirit: Explorations in Metaphysical and NewAgeSpirituality"/Catherine L. Albanese 20. "Fullness of Life Bodily Health andVigor"/Ralph Waldo Trine 21. "The Gift of Understanding" and "The Night theSenses"/Thomas Merton 22. "Seeing"/Annie Dillard 23. "Four Applications ofMindfulness"/B. Alan Wallace with Steven Wilhelm 24. "Renewing the SacredHoop"/Dhyani Ywahoo 25. "The New Age and Rational Thought" and "A Rainbow ofExpression"/ShirleyMacLaine 26. "The Tree and Its Parts"/B.K.S. Iyengar 27."Discourse on Mind-Intent and Ch'i"/Chen KungSuggestions for FurtherReadingIndex

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