A New Religious America: How a Christian Country Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation

by Diana L. Eck

Book Overview

Why Understanding America's Religious Landscape Is the Most Important Challenge Facing Us Today

The 1990s saw the U.S. Navy commission its first Muslim chaplain and open its first mosque.There are presently more than three hundred temples in Los Angeles, home to the greatest variety of Buddhists in the world.There are more American Muslims than there are American Episcopalians, Jews, or Presbyterians.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060621591
• ISBN13: 9780060621599
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A New Religious America

Diana Eck's book, A New Religious America is an eye-opener. After studying how religious diversity plays out socially and spiritually in India, she discovered that the United States is now the most religiously diverse nation in the world. She launched the Pluralism Project to study this phenomenon, a project that continues. This book is both a status report on religion in America and an appeal for moving from tolerance through recognition of diversity to pluralism--the idea that we need to know about one another's spiritual lives and traditions to be mature, and even wise, citizens. For Eck, the religious freedom free from government favor or coercion envisaged by the Founding Fathers is a gift that has expanded far beyond anything they could have thought. Her exploration of the varieties of religious traditions in America, and of the diversity within each tradition, is a giant step in genuine understanding. A highlight of her accessible, easily readable survey is her explanations of how these traditions are affecting American religious consciousness, and how American religious freedom is affecting the newer traditions that come here. Something wholly new is emerging in this country, and Eck captures its present moment and awakens us to a world right around us that we can easily fail to see.

Embracing globalized healing through diversity celebration.

Eck has brought the readers of her book irrefutable understandings of how sharing and learning about one another we can rise to the highest level of evolution; that being peaceful coexistence. She has delivered a sacred document by which we can understand that no one has the only way to embrace understanding of what we call God. Through that knowledge we can commune together even though we do not agree on every point of anothers journey we accept the right of each soul to choose their individual creative path as a spiritual being having a human experience. I highly recommend this book to all who wish to improve their knowledge of what is growing the this country. Be aware however that it will take some time because she has filled her volume with multiple examples of her learning. It is a rich reference for any student from undergraduate to doctoral. Even highly motivated high school students will find this an interesting insight into understanding their diverse communities. Sunday school classes would do well to embrace the reading and discussion of this volume as well. C A Parker

Amazingly eye-opening

Diana Eck's book has to be one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read. Diana Eck does a brilliant job of comparing different ways of interaction with people of different religions, which include exclusion, assimilation, and pluralism. It is through her breakdowns of the motives for, and results of, these three ideas that Eck is able to show us that the ideal form of interaction of interaction between faiths is pluralism.Eck superbly demonstrates the influence that Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam have had on the cultural and religious landscape of the America in which they were planted. Eck also does a wonderful job of demonstrating how mainstream America has played a role in the shaping of these individual religions, whether it be in the mixing of water from the Ganges with water from the Mississippi in the blessing of a Hindu temple in Boston, or in the prescence of pews inside of a Buddhist temple, Eck makes it clear that this cultural diffusion that is occuring is not one-sided.This book is a brilliant work that I personally recommend to EVERYONE IN AMERICA.

A Great Look at Islam (and Hinduism and Buddhism) in America

One of the notable post-September 11 phenomena was the realization of large chunks of the American public that there are a *lot* of muslims all across America. This would come as no surprise to Diana Eck, or readers of her book. She devotes a large chunk of this book to a survey of Islam in America-- its tenets, practices, and diversity. Similar chapters profile Hinduism and Buddhism. It's an empathic look at the challenges believers face in adjusting to this country, and the challenges this country faces in adjusting to these diverse faiths.(Disclosure: ...

A Truly excellent and informative book

This is one of the best books on religion in America I have ever read. This author focuses on Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, who have been growing quickly in recent years. In the past decades mosques & temples have been poping up all over, even in the most Christian parts of this country. The author gives a good history on how the religion was established here, and its growth. Her view into the daily lives of these people was fascinating. I am truly inspired how these religious people, hold true to their values, along with American values at the same time.