A groundbreaking, impressively researched, and kitsch-filled exploration of how Americans' sacred ``stuff'' both shapes and reflects their religious beliefs. McDannell (coauthor of Heaven: A History, 1988) here offers a fresh scholarly approach to Christianity in America: Instead of focusing on the hackneyed written expressions of elite clergy, she turns her attention to the sacred objects of rank-and-file believers. What do prints, Bibles, domestic shrines, and Jesus T-shirts tell us about religious faith? McDannell criticizes American religionists for ignoring these ``unwritten texts'' and following an iconoclastic Puritan suspicion of holy objects. In correcting this oversight, she demonstrates that not only Catholics but also Protestants and Mormons have a deep affinity for tactile sacred things. The book is strongest when it delves into the home, the realm most often ignored by scholars, and explores what Lourdes holy water, Victorian Bible stands, and needlepoint samplers reveal about their owners' spirituality. Far from being meaningless decor, the author argues, they signify a deep commitment to religion. The chapter on Mormon temple garments offers an especially subtle discussion of the fusion of the ``profane'' body with the ``sacred'' rituals of the temple. Ultimately, McDannell argues that these traditional categories are of little use in understanding American religiosity, as people intentionally seek to bring the sacred into their ``profane'' homes and lives. The author is least cogent when she stretches beyond the scope of the home, ritual objects, and clothing, and individual chapters vary in quality, some essays failing to convey the personalization of the sacred that makes the topic so compelling. One hopes that other historians will follow McDannell's bold lead and attend to this neglected aspect of religious expression. (100 b&w photos and 24 color plates, not seen)
Pub Date: Feb. 14, 1996
ISBN: 0-300-06440-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1995
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
