The American Catholic Experience: A History from Colonial Times to the Present - Softcover

Dolan, Jay P. P.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385152078 ISBN 13: 9780385152075

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 1987

Synopsis

Catholicism has had a profound and lasting influence on the shape, the meaning, and the course of American history. Now, in the first book to reflect the new communal and social awakening which emerged from Vatican Council II, here is a vibrant and compelling history of the American Catholic experience—one that will surely become the standard volume for this decade, and decades to come.

Spanning nearly five hundred years, the narrative eloquently describes the Catholic experience from the arrival of Columbus and the other European explorers to the present day. It sheds fascinating new light on the work of the first vanguard of missionaries, and on the religious struggles and tensions of the early settlers. We watch Catholicism as it spread across the New World, and see how it transformed—and was transformed by—the land and its people. We follow the evolution of the urban ethnic communities and learn about the vital contributions of the immigrant church to Catholicism. And finally, we share in the controversy of the modern church and the extraordinary changes in the Catholic consciousness as it comes to grips with such contemporary social and theological issues as war and peace and the arms race, materialism, birth control and abortion, social justice, civil rights, religious freedom, the ordination of women, and married clergy.

The American Catholic Experience is not just the history of an institution, but a chronicle of the dreams and aspirations, the crises and faith, of a thriving, ever-evolving religious community. It provides a penetrating and deeply thoughtful look at an experience as diverse, as exciting, and as powerful as America itself.

About this title

About the Author

Jay P. Dolan was on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame for 33 years. While at Notre Dame he founded the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism in 1975 and was the director of the center until 1993. As an American Catholic history specialist, he published a number of books in the field, including In Search of an American Catholicism: A History of Religion and Culture in Tension and The American Catholic Experience: A History from Colonial Times to the Present.

From Library Journal

Dolan writes in a lively manner and synthesizes vast amounts of material with a flair reminiscent of Martin Marty at his best. Tracing the history of Ca tholicism in America from the Spanish missions to the 1983 pastoral letter ``The Challenge of Peace,'' Dolan (who considers himself a social historian) de scribes the life and faith of the ``little'' people without ignoring the intellectual currents that swirled about them. De spite some occasional choppiness and confusion engendered by the book's mixed chronological/topical organiza tion, this is an admirable work that will appeal to general readers and still serve for academic use; indeed, the footnotes are a treasure trove for students and scholars of American Catholic history. Highly recommended. D. Stephen Rockwood, Mt. St. Mary's Coll. Lib., Emmitsburg, Md.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0385152078
• ISBN 13: 9780385152075
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 504