THE COLUMBIA DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF RELIGION IN AMERICA SINCE 1945

Scholars Harvey and Goff bring together a rich collection of primary sources that tell the story of religion in post–World War II America. Here, we find many cultural themes rendered fresh and revealing by firsthand accounts: second-wave feminism's intersection with theology is captured by Judith Plaskow's 1983 reflection "The Right Question Is Theological," for example, and freedom songs like "We Shall Overcome" take readers to the front lines of the Civil Rights movement. Perhaps most important is the chapter that focuses on the way new immigrant communities have reshaped the American religious landscape—here is D. T. Suzuki explaining Zen in 1959, Muslim writers on human rights and women's rights in American Islam and Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor reflecting on what Christians could learn from Hindus. The editors' introductions and the few secondary sources included, such as an excerpt from Harvey Cox's study of Pentecostalism, usefully contextualize the primary sources. No anthology is comprehensive, and if this collection gets a gold star for including Asian-American religion and drawing connections between religion and social movements, there are some surprising lacunae: the editors mostly overlook the small-group movement, for instance. This is mainly a book for the classroom. Unfortunately, its high price all but guarantees that, at least until it is released in paperback, it will be purchased only by libraries. (May)