American Grace Research Articles

Archival ambience and sensory memory: Generating queer intimacies in the settler colonial archive

ABSTRACTThe shift to archives as rhetorical places creates opportunities to examine environmental accessibility, the role of archives in legitimating official public memory, and tactics to evoke memory at the margins. I conceptualize the relation between archival environments, feeling, and memory as “archival ambience.” Ambience challenges modern theories of invention and foregrounds the entanglements of sensory culture, corporeality, sensation, feeling, and memory. Ambience reimagines invention and circulation as the relational materiality of bodies and as central to the generation of intimacies. This essay models a sensory engagement with archives at the American Heritage Center and Grace Hebard and Agnes Wergeland collections. Guided by the settler colonial environment of the American Heritage Center (AHC) and what remains of Hebard and Wergeland, I craft a queer sense of their “intimate friendship” and argue that perception of Hebard and Wergeland's intimate friendship takes shape through the sensory culture of the AHC and that their queerness is an effect of the archive.

Christian Fundamentalism and the Culture of Disenchantment by Paul Maltby (review)

Maltby, Paul. 2013. Christian Fundamentalism and Culture of Disenchantment. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. $55.00 hc. $24.50 sc. 248 pp.Paul Maltby's Christian Fundamentalism and Culture of Disenchantment describes polarized predicament of United States in early twenty-first century, where deepest beliefs and values of Christian conservatives, especially those with an evangelical or fundamentalist bent, are more or less anathema to liberal secularists, whose beliefs and values (which are often just as deeply held) derive from basically incompatible worldview. Whereas fundamentalist worldview remains committed to Biblical literalism, metaphysical dualism, and conservative social agenda, postmodern outlook derives from what some critical theorists have called anti-foundationalism, insisting on historical of all texts, including Scripture, and indeed of all persons. This contingency principle, Maltby hastens to add, not amount to relativist, 'anything goes' outlook, but it does mean that any truth claims, whether or not they appeal to an ultimate or transcendent reality, are still subject to the provisional standpoint of here and now (42-43).Maltby's observation that United States is polarized between religious conservatives and secular is corroborated by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell in American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, who similarly argue that Americans are increasingly concentrated at opposite ends of religious spectrum-the highly religious at one pole, and avowedly secular at other. The moderate religious middle is shrinking (2012, 3). In Putnam and Campbell's compelling account of how such polarization came about, seismic upheaval of 1960s, especially its sexual libertinism, produced prudish aftershock of growth in conservative religion; especially after 1980, religion came to be increasingly associated with Republican Party (3). Similarly, Maltby discusses electoral mobilization of American evangelicals beginning in late 1970s, which marked new interventionist phase in political life of Christian Right (2013, 3). He too argues that this development was provoked by countercultural insurgencies and liberal initiatives of era (17). Furthermore, he contends that resurgence of politically active Christian fundamentalism in 1970s . . . may be partly understood as faith community consolidating its identity in face of diffusion and deepening of ironic sensibility in postmodern (84-85).If one legacy of dissident politics of 1960s was new postmodern sensibility that has gained influence and prestige ever since, perhaps most salient result of that sensibility was not so much political as metaphysical: development of culture of disenchantment, which Maltby describes as a secular ethos of unremitting and boundless critique, in which all forms of institutional authority, hegemonic norms and precepts, and 'master narratives' have fallen under suspicion (11-12). Ironic, self-reflexive attitudes not only pertain to dominant critical discourses in humanities and social sciences; they also manifest in popular media forms such as self-parodying movies, selfaware television shows, self-mocking advertisements, and so on. Maltby argues that this culture of disenchantment produces type of people who are cynical, skeptical, and suspicious almost to fault, but who tend to populate key domains of public sphere (12) such as higher education and mass media, for instance; they are often, but by no means exclusively . . . to be found within urban communities of secular liberals (15). While principal practitioners of this culture of disenchantment do not necessarily represent mainstream in United States, they nonetheless enjoy elite status and prestige of critical acclaim (14). …

Image of God and Community Volunteering among Religious Adherents in the United States

Individual theological beliefs provide important motivations for religious people to volunteer in their communities. Compassion and loving one's neighbor are both ideas that can motivate individuals to volunteer their time and talents. Religious believers who have conservative theological beliefs may see volunteering for their communities as a minor factor in their religious calling. Recent research on the role of social embeddedness within religious communities, however, has questioned the importance of theology as a motivation to volunteer (Putnam and Campbell, in American Grace. Simon and Schuster, New York, 2010 ; Lewis et al., in Soc Sci Res 42: 331–346, 2013 ). In this paper we test the effects of a religious adherent's image of God's disposition toward the world on their pattern of community volunteering. Using data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey and multinomial logit models, we find that having an image of God as judgmental lowers the odds that religious adherents report having volunteered for the community independent of their place of worship. Adherents who are most willing to engage the external community independent of a place of worship are those with less judgmental images of God. We also find that embeddedness is associated with volunteering for and with the place of worship in the community. Implications for theory, research and social capital formation are discussed.

Book Review: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

Book Review: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

Word about Recent Book: III. Historical-Theological Studies: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

Word about Recent Book: III. Historical-Theological Studies: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

American Grace: The Theological Price

AbstractThe study, American Grace by Putnam and Campbell affirms the sociological significance of religion as a distinctive vitalising form of social capital. With its stress on virtues of trust, altruism and communal affiliation realised through social networking in congregations, this civil religion, one peculiar to the U.S.A., accomplishes a form of grace that resolves the puzzle of belief and pluralism by generating harmony and religious tolerance. This solution bears a price of rendering religion as end in itself, one detached from exclusivist theological claims in regard to salvation. In exposing this conundrum, the study reveals a highly significant and unexpected facet of the secularisation thesis.

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam, David E. Campbell. (Simon and Schuster, 2010).

<i>American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us</i>. By Robert D. Putnam, David E. Campbell. (Simon and Schuster, 2010).

Religion and American Public Life

In the headline of the review symposium on page 103 of the March 2012 issue of Perspectives on Politics, the title of the book by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell is erroneously listed as Saving Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. The correct title of the book under discussion is American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. The correct title and bibliographic details should be: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 688p. $30.00 cloth, $18.00 paper.

Robert Putnam and David Campbell. American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

No abstract is available.

Religion and American Public Life

In his 2000 best seller Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Civic Community, Robert Putnam analyzed the links between social capital and civic engagement. Lamenting the decline of “civic America,” he called for a Tocquevillean renewal of voluntary association in the United States. In American Grace, Putnam and coauthor David Campbell—who also helped with the preparation of Bowling Alone—return to the analysis of American civil society, focusing their attention on America's changing religious landscape and its implications for democracy. Their basic argument is that while the United States is religiously diverse and pluralistic to a profound degree, and while in recent years it has witnessed growing religious polarization, it has also succeeded in muting religious tensions and hostilities. As they conclude: “How has America solved the puzzle of religious pluralism—the coexistence of religious diversity and devotion? And how has it done so in the wake of growing religious polarization? By creating a web of interlocking personal relationships among people of many different faiths. This is America's grace” (p. 550).Given the importance of religion in American life and the influence of Putnam's broad agenda on much current social science research on social capital and civic engagement, we have decided to organize a symposium around the book, centered on three questions: 1) How is American Grace related to Putnam's earlier work, particularly Bowling Alone, and what are the implications of the continuities and/or discontinuities between these works? 2) What kind of a work of political science is American Grace, and how does it compare to other important recent work dealing with religion and politics in the United States? 3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of Putnam and Campbell's account of “how religion divides and unites us,” and what is the best way of thinking about the contemporary significance of religion and politics in the United States and about the ways that the religious landscape challenges U.S. politics and U.S. political science?

Religion and American Public Life

In his 2000 best seller Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Civic Community, Robert Putnam analyzed the links between social capital and civic engagement. Lamenting the decline of “civic America,” he called for a Tocquevillean renewal of voluntary association in the United States. In American Grace, Putnam and coauthor David Campbell—who also helped with the preparation of Bowling Alone—return to the analysis of American civil society, focusing their attention on America's changing religious landscape and its implications for democracy. Their basic argument is that while the United States is religiously diverse and pluralistic to a profound degree, and while in recent years it has witnessed growing religious polarization, it has also succeeded in muting religious tensions and hostilities. As they conclude: “How has America solved the puzzle of religious pluralism—the coexistence of religious diversity and devotion? And how has it done so in the wake of growing religious polarization? By creating a web of interlocking personal relationships among people of many different faiths. This is America's grace” (p. 550).Given the importance of religion in American life and the influence of Putnam's broad agenda on much current social science research on social capital and civic engagement, we have decided to organize a symposium around the book, centered on three questions: 1) How is American Grace related to Putnam's earlier work, particularly Bowling Alone, and what are the implications of the continuities and/or discontinuities between these works? 2) What kind of a work of political science is American Grace, and how does it compare to other important recent work dealing with religion and politics in the United States? 3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of Putnam and Campbell's account of “how religion divides and unites us,” and what is the best way of thinking about the contemporary significance of religion and politics in the United States and about the ways that the religious landscape challenges U.S. politics and U.S. political science?

Religion and American Public Life

In his 2000 best seller Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Civic Community, Robert Putnam analyzed the links between social capital and civic engagement. Lamenting the decline of “civic America,” he called for a Tocquevillean renewal of voluntary association in the United States. In American Grace, Putnam and coauthor David Campbell—who also helped with the preparation of Bowling Alone—return to the analysis of American civil society, focusing their attention on America's changing religious landscape and its implications for democracy. Their basic argument is that while the United States is religiously diverse and pluralistic to a profound degree, and while in recent years it has witnessed growing religious polarization, it has also succeeded in muting religious tensions and hostilities. As they conclude: “How has America solved the puzzle of religious pluralism—the coexistence of religious diversity and devotion? And how has it done so in the wake of growing religious polarization? By creating a web of interlocking personal relationships among people of many different faiths. This is America's grace” (p. 550).Given the importance of religion in American life and the influence of Putnam's broad agenda on much current social science research on social capital and civic engagement, we have decided to organize a symposium around the book, centered on three questions: 1) How is American Grace related to Putnam's earlier work, particularly Bowling Alone, and what are the implications of the continuities and/or discontinuities between these works? 2) What kind of a work of political science is American Grace, and how does it compare to other important recent work dealing with religion and politics in the United States? 3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of Putnam and Campbell's account of “how religion divides and unites us,” and what is the best way of thinking about the contemporary significance of religion and politics in the United States and about the ways that the religious landscape challenges U.S. politics and U.S. political science?

Religion and American Public Life

In his 2000 best seller Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Civic Community, Robert Putnam analyzed the links between social capital and civic engagement. Lamenting the decline of “civic America,” he called for a Tocquevillean renewal of voluntary association in the United States. In American Grace, Putnam and coauthor David Campbell—who also helped with the preparation of Bowling Alone—return to the analysis of American civil society, focusing their attention on America's changing religious landscape and its implications for democracy. Their basic argument is that while the United States is religiously diverse and pluralistic to a profound degree, and while in recent years it has witnessed growing religious polarization, it has also succeeded in muting religious tensions and hostilities. As they conclude: “How has America solved the puzzle of religious pluralism—the coexistence of religious diversity and devotion? And how has it done so in the wake of growing religious polarization? By creating a web of interlocking personal relationships among people of many different faiths. This is America's grace” (p. 550).Given the importance of religion in American life and the influence of Putnam's broad agenda on much current social science research on social capital and civic engagement, we have decided to organize a symposium around the book, centered on three questions: 1) How is American Grace related to Putnam's earlier work, particularly Bowling Alone, and what are the implications of the continuities and/or discontinuities between these works? 2) What kind of a work of political science is American Grace, and how does it compare to other important recent work dealing with religion and politics in the United States? 3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of Putnam and Campbell's account of “how religion divides and unites us,” and what is the best way of thinking about the contemporary significance of religion and politics in the United States and about the ways that the religious landscape challenges U.S. politics and U.S. political science?

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, with the assistance of Shaylyn Romney Garrett

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, with the assistance of Shaylyn Romney Garrett

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

American Grace is a large and useful white paper on the place of religion in contemporary American society. Relying on a 2006–2007 survey of their own, but also employing an array of other survey data and monographic studies, Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell give a readable account of much of what is known about the religious demography of the United States and offer balanced views on how religion has shaped contemporary American social and political values and identities. They provide sophisticated analysis while eschewing social science jargon and technicality. There are footnotes for specialists and, for the general reader, extended vignettes of a number of congregations (written by Shaylyn Romney Garrett) that supply anecdotal commentary and reference points for the analysis. Those interested in obtaining new insights into American religious history, however, are likely to come away disappointed. The authors are not historians, and their account of how we got to where we are boils down to the 1960s and its discontents. Circumstances that do not fit the narrative—such as the fact that the most significant growth of conservative churches occurred before the 1960s sex-and-gender revolution—are ignored or glossed over. Institutional developments such as the decline of denominationalism receive little or no attention, much less explanation. Regional religious variation gets an early glance but quickly fades from view in favor of national aggregates.

When Susan Meets Al: Toward a Theory of Interreligious Harmony - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth.

When Susan Meets Al: Toward a Theory of Interreligious Harmony - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth. - Volume 4 Issue 2

A Multi-Method Account of Religion's Role in American Society and Politics - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth.

A Multi-Method Account of Religion's Role in American Society and Politics - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth. - Volume 4 Issue 2

Response to Penny Edgell, Kenneth D. Wald, Eric L. McDaniel, and Stratos Patrikios - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth.

Response to Penny Edgell, Kenneth D. Wald, Eric L. McDaniel, and Stratos Patrikios - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth. - Volume 4 Issue 2

A Conversation Starter - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth.

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The sum of the Parts: Religion and American Public Life - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth.

The sum of the Parts: Religion and American Public Life - American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us. By Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2010. 673 pp. $39.95 cloth.