Table Of ContentCONTRIBUTORS
Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi, Columbia Theological Seminary
George D. Chryssides, University of Birmingham
Mark A. Csikszentmihalyi, University of California at Berkeley
Dell deChant, University of South Florida
Malcolm David Eckel, Boston University
Robert S. Ellwood, University of Southern California
John L. Esposito, Georgetown University
Fred Frohock, University of Miami
Sam Gill, University of Colorado at Boulder
Justo L. González, Columbia Theological Seminary
Andrew M. Greeley, University of Arizona and University of
Chicago
William Scott Green, University of Miami
Danny L. Jorgensen, University of South Florida
Gerald James Larson, University of California at Santa Barbara
Martin E. Marty, University of Chicago
John McGuckin, Union Theological Seminary
Mike McMullen, University of Houston-Clear Lake
Paul Murray, Bard College
Jacob Neusner, Bard College
Peter J. Paris, Princeton Theological Seminary
Jaroslav Pelikan, Yale University
Eleanor J. Stebner, Simon Fraser University
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
World religions in America : an introduction/Jacob Neusner, editor.—4th ed.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-664-23320-4 (alk. paper)
1. United States—Religion. I. Neusner, Jacob, 1932–
BL2525.W67 2009
200.973—dc22
2009006573
CONTENTS
Preface to the Fourth Edition
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Jacob Neusner
PART ONE: IN THE BEGINNING
1. Native Americans and Their Religions
Sam Gill
PART TWO: CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN RELIGIONS
2. Protestant Christianity in the World and in America
Martin E. Marty
3. The Religious World of African Americans
Peter J. Paris
4. The Catholics in the World and in America
Andrew M. Greeley and Paul Murray
5. The Religious World of Latino/a-Hispanic Americans
Justo L. González and Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi
6. Orthodox Christianity in the World and in America
Jaroslav Pelikan and John McGuckin
PART THREE: OTHER MONOTHEISTIC TRADITIONS IN AMERICA
7. Judaism in the World and in America
Jacob Neusner
8. Islam in the World and in America
John L. Esposito
9. The Bahá’í Faith in the World and in America
Mike McMullen
PART FOUR: MORE RECENT ARRIVALS
10. Hinduism in India and in America
Gerald James Larson
11. Buddhism in the World and in America
Malcolm David Eckel
12. East Asian Religions in Today’s America
Robert S. Ellwood and Mark A. Csikszentmihalyi
PART FIVE: MADE (OR RE-MADE) IN THE U.S.A.
13. World Religions Made in the U.S.A.: Apocalyptic Communities—
Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses
Dell deChant
14. World Religions Made in the U.S.A.: Metaphysical Communities
—Christian Science and Theosophy
Dell deChant
15. New Thought: A Quintessentially American Religion
Dell deChant
16. The Church of Scientology: A Very New American Religion
Dell deChant and Danny L. Jorgensen
17. Nature Religions: American Neopaganism and Witchcraft
Danny L. Jorgensen
18. The Latter-day Saint (Mormon) Religion in America and the
World
Danny L. Jorgensen
19. The Uni�cation Church
George D. Chryssides
PART SIX: ISSUES IN AMERICAN RELIGION
20. Religion and Women in America
Eleanor J. Stebner
21. Religion and Politics in America
Andrew M. Greeley and Fred Frohock with Esben Gerhauge
22. Religion and Society in America
William Scott Green
Glossary
Index
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
The publication of a fourth edition of this textbook responds to the
acceptance of the �rst three editions and also to the passage of time.
We realized that the story of what has happened to world religions
in the USA has opened a new chapter and requires ampli�cation.
We are serving two audiences here, those interested in religion in
America and those interested in world religions compared and
contrasted.
For this new edition we have commissioned three completely
new chapters, which are on the Uni�cation Church (popularly
known as the Moonies), New Thought, and Women and Religion in
America. In addition, all the existing chapters have been revised and
updated to take account of recent developments and trends.
The entire textbook has been reorganized to take account of a
more logical sequence of topics. In addition we have added
timelines of important events and persons, sidebars on key
movements or controversies, sidebars with personal stories from
members of various faiths, and lists of suggested websites, books,
and topics for further study. The editor thanks the contributors both
old and new for their participation in what has become a long-term
project, and also the following people at Westminster John Knox
Press: editors Gavin Stephens and Jana Riess, who supervised the
changes and additions for this edition; production professionals
Julie Tonini and Erika Lundbom; and marketing director Jennifer
Cox.
JACOB NEUSNER
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As organizer and editor of this project, I acknowledge with real
thanks the contributions of many people. It is right and proper to
name each one.
The literary editor of this book is Naomi Pasacho�. She read
each chapter as it came in and corresponded with the various
authors, making numerous important suggestions for the
improvement of the early drafts. An accomplished textbook writer in
her own career, she brought to the study of religion those skills of
presentation to students that have made her one of the country’s
leading writers of science textbooks, and textbooks for the
synagogues’ schools of Judaism. We were fortunate indeed to have
her participation in this volume, and all of the authors join me in
expressing our thanks to her.
The study-guide material and the Glossary are the work of Dr.
Mark Ledbetter. The weight of his contribution may be simply
stated: Without it, the book would be much less e�ective as an
instrument of teaching. All parties to the book concur that he has
given us just what we needed, and it is his skill as a teacher that has
shaped the study-guide material.
My thinking about the need for a project of just this kind—
combining the study of world religions with a close reading of
religions in America—was shaped in conversations with Professor
William Scott Green, then of the University of Rochester. No detail
of the planning of this book, the de�nition of its purpose, the
outline of its chapters, and its execution throughout, was �nally
de�ned without discussion with him. He has served not only as a
consultant, but as an active partner in the conception and
completion of the book.
A word of thanks and admiration goes, also, to the authors of the
various chapters. I learned about religion, as well as about the study
