God Talk in America

God-Talk in America argues that there is an emerging new understanding of who and what God is, and of what religion must do. Tickle, former religion editor at PW, argues that religion is being created in the streets, cafes, bedrooms and kitchens of America rather than in its seminaries and cathedrals. With her rapier wit and lucid insights, Tickle argues that today's spiritual revolution is taking America into an unprecedented religious reformation. Actually, Tickle has written two valuable books in one. The first two thirds of this book include chapters that address the development of religious expression, from its role in early American history through its impact on cyberspace. These chapters are filled with gentle accounts of episodes in religious history by a woman who loves to tell stories. Buried in the stories, though, are the razor-sharp observations that have made Tickle the undisputed expert on American religion: ""Despite the fact that we are the developed world's most theologically illiterate and morally obsessed society, we are also its most religious one."" The last third of the book is notes, pages of meaty research Tickle has mined from varied and extensive sources. This section alone is worth the price of the book. Overall, this is an essential work for anyone concerned with the development of religion in America. (Apr.)