Religious Change In America (social Trends In The United States) [Paperback]

Many observers assume that America is a much less religious nation than it was forty years ago. According to Andrew Greeley, however, this is simply not true. Carefully analyzing surveys conducted over the past half-century, Greeley concludes that rates of church attendance, prayer, church membership, activity in church organizations, belief in life after death, and other measures of religious involvement have remained surprisingly constant.There is no other book that assembles so much survey data for the last fifty years of American religion in such a brief and convenient format.Andrew Greeley has been among the most perceptive and productive analysts of change in American religion. In this book, he analyzes data from forty years and comes up with some surprising findings that all students of religion in America will have to take seriously.As he has many a time before, Greeley shows how careful scholarship can smash widespread but wrongheaded beliefs about religion in the United States. This book will give social theorists as well as students of religion a rich meal that will nourish the sociology community as well.Many observers assume that America is a far less religious nation than it was 40 years ago, but according to Greeley, this is untrue. Citing surveys conducted over the past half-century, Greeley concludes that rates of church attendance and membership, prayer, belief in an afterlife, and other measures of religious activity have remained constant.