This edited collection provides an in-depth ethnographic study of faith-based development organizations in the United States, shining a much needed critical light onto these organizations and their role in the United States by exploring the varied ways that faith-based organizations attempt to mend the fissures and mitigate the effects of neoliberal capitalism, poverty, and the social service sector on the poor and powerless. In doing so, Not by Faith Alone generates provocative a...

Friedrich Schiller's "The Thirty Years War — Complete" is a profound exploration of one of the most transformative periods in European history. Written in the early 19th century, Schiller employs a rich, evocative literary style, blending historical narrative with artistic dramatization to present the complexities of the war. This work is not merely a recounting of the struggle between Protestant and Catholic states; it serves as a philosophical reflection on human nature, political power,...

'The foreigner is within me, hence we're all foreigners. If we're all foreigners, there are no foreigners.' – Julia KristevaStrangers Within is an anthology exploring the idea of documentary as encounter through essays, stories, interviews and other creative responses by filmmakers, artists, and writers. The texts engage with the risks of encounter, unsettling assumptions about the distinctions between host and guest; stranger and friend; self and other; d...

During his 2009 inaugural speech, President Obama described the United States as a nation of "Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus--and nonbelievers." It was the first time an American president had acknowledged the existence of this rapidly growing segment of the population in such a public forum. And yet the reasons why more and more people are turning away from religion are still poorly understood. In Faith No More, Phil Zuckerman draws on in-depth interviews with people who...

Winner of the Distinguished Book Award from American Sociology Association Sociology of Religion Section Winner of the Richard Kalish Best Publication Award from the Gerontological Society of America Few things are more likely to cause heartache to devout parents than seeing their child leave the faith. And it seems, from media portrayals, that this is happening more and more frequently. But is religious change between generations common? How does religion get passed down ...

Why do I exist? Is this all there is? What is my true nature? What is most important in life? How should I live? These are humanity's oldest spiritual questions. At the year 2000, however, many who ask them are profoundly estranged from religion. To some, religion is belief in the unbelievable--incom-patible with intelligence and learning. To others, it's just another bureaucratic institution--legalistic, hypo-critical, untrustworthy. Still others have been alienated by their birth traditi...

In this passionate and searching book, Anthony Kronman offers a third way—beyond atheism and religion—to the God of the modern worldWe live in an age of disenchantment. The number of self-professed “atheists” continues to grow. Yet many still feel an intense spiritual longing for a connection to what Aristotle called the “eternal and divine.” For those who do, but demand a God that is compatible with their modern ideals, a new theology is required. This is what Ant...

Best Review at the Catholic Press Association Convention Studies of young American Catholics over the last three decades suggest a growing crisis in the Catholic Church: compared to their elders, young Catholics are looking to the Church less as they form their identities, and fewer of them can even explain what it means to be Catholic and why that matters. Young Catholic America, the latest book based on the groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion, e...

A complete and revealing history of the Peace Corps—in time for its fiftieth anniversaryWhen the World Calls is the first complete and balanced look at the Peace Corps's first fifty years. Stanley Meisler's engaging narrative exposes Washington infighting, presidential influence, and the Volunteers' unique struggles abroad. He deftly unpacks the complicated history with sharp analysis and memorable anecdotes, taking readers on a global trek starting with t...

What is your purpose in life? This simple question motivates some of our most life-altering decisions, deeply-held beliefs, and profound emotions, as well as the choices we make every single day. How we derive meaning from our existence is crucial to finding happiness, developing relationships, and building societies. In On Purpose, Paul Froese brings together data from large national and international surveys with interviews that illuminate the ways in which people from all walks...

“This thought-provoking oral history illuminates the vibrant panorama of values and beliefs that is shaping America.”—Coretta Scott KingWhat do Americans, as a people, believe in? What are the experiences that have transformed their lives? How does faith—in God, in human goodness, in politics, progress, money, or pleasure—illuminate our actions?These are the questions that Phillip L. Berman asked when he set off on a four-year, 35,000-mile odyssey to chroni...

A user-friendly book for young ladies who are being confirmed or have recently gone through the confirmation process. Special keepsake format includes a special presentation page and selected Scriptures and reflections that focus on the celebration of Confirmation.