Powerful forces of social change at the turn of the nineteenth century forced American churches and their members to confront, for the first time, the issue of religious toleration. Christiano analyzes the effects of mass immigration and urbanization on various communities. These upheavals required the established churches to either accept or repel a level of religious diversity unimagined by the architects of American liberty. By examining changes in church membership in the largest urban areas, integrating historical research from a number of disciplines with statistical analyses of the...

Powerful forces of social change at the turn of the nineteenth century forced American churches and their members to confront, for the first time, the issue of religious toleration. Christiano analyzes the effects of mass immigration and urbanization on various communities. These upheavals required the established churches to either accept or repel a level of religious diversity unimagined by the architects of American liberty. By examining changes in church membership in the largest urban areas, integrating historical research from a number of disciplines with statistical analyses of the...

Almost all of America's private colleges and universities started out as denominational schools, but connections with sponsoring churches gradually attenuated over the last century. Only fundamentalist Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church still maintain colleges and universities closely tied to the spirit of their denominations. Catholic higher education is the largest of these systems, producing a significant proportion of America's college graduates, trained professionals, and doctorates. Andrew M. Greeley argues that Catholic schools are no better and no worse than the...

This third edition introduces students to key principles in the sociology of religion-from history and theory to contemporary debates. This edition features new material on the relationships of religion to race and ethnicity, and to gender and sexuality, the perceived rise of both fundamentalism and secularism, global religion, and more.

This third edition introduces students to key principles in the sociology of religion-from history and theory to contemporary debates. This edition features new material on the relationships of religion to race and ethnicity, and to gender and sexuality, the perceived rise of both fundamentalism and secularism, global religion, and more.