Church of Our Own

Warner, R.Stephen

ISBN 10: 0813536235 / ISBN 13: 9780813536231

Published by Rutgers University Press, 2005

About this Item

R. Stephen Warner traces the "new paradigm" interpretation of American religion. Formulatted in the 1990s in response to theories of secularization that focused on the waning plausibility of religions, the new paradigm reoriented to a focus on communities, subcultures, new religious institutions, and the fluidity of modern religious identities. Num Pages: 320 pages, 1fig.1tabs. BIC Classification: 1KBB; HRC; JH. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 229 x 152 x 17. Weight in Grams: 454. . 2005. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780813536231

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Church of Our Own
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813536235
• ISBN 13: 9780813536231
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In this definitive collection of essays spanning fifteen years, R. Stephen Warner traces the development of the “new paradigm” interpretation of American religion. Originally formulated in the 1990s in response to prevailing theories of secularization that focused on the waning plausibility of religion in modern societies, the new paradigm reoriented the study of religion to a focus on communities, subcultures, new religious institutions, and the fluidity of modern religious identities. This perspective continues to be one of the most important driving forces in the field and one of the most significant challenges to the idea that religious pluralism inevitably leads to religious decline.

A leading sociologist of religion, Warner shows how the new paradigm stresses the role that religion plays as a vehicle for the bonding and expression of communities within the United States—a society founded on the principle of religious disestablishment and characterized by a diverse and mobile population. Chapters examine evangelicals and Pentecostals, gay and lesbian churches, immigrant religious institutions, Hispanic parishes, and churches for the deaf in terms of this framework. Newly written introductory and concluding essays set these groups within the broad context of the developing field. A thoughtfully organized and timely collection, the volume is a valuable classroom resource as well as essential reading for scholars of contemporary religion.

About the Author

R. STEPHEN WARNER is a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 1989, he received the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion for New Wine in Old Wineskins: Evangelicals and Liberals in a Small-Town Church.