An incisive examination of progressive faith-based activism and its impact on American public lifeWhile the Religious Right often dominates headlines, the Religious Left has been a persistent and influential force in shaping public policy across a wide spectrum of issues—from immigration and climate change to gun reform, marriage equality, and criminal justice. Despite its lower visibility, its contributions have been substantial, though not always successful....

How the actions and advocacy of diverse religious communities in the United States have supported democracy’s development during the past centuryDoes religion benefit democracy? Robert Wuthnow says yes. In Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy, Wuthnow makes his case by moving beyond the focus on unifying values or narratives about culture wars and elections. Rather, he demonstrates that the beneficial contributions of religion are best understood th...

How a fraying social fabric is fueling the outrage of rural AmericansWhat is fueling rural America’s outrage toward the federal government? Why did rural Americans vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump? And is there a more nuanced explanation for the growing rural-urban divide? Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Robert Wuthnow brings us into America’s small towns, farms, and rural communities to paint a rich portrait of the moral o...

The communities, congregations, and faith-based coalitions that have been working for racial justice over the past fifty yearsHave progressive religious organizations been missing in action in recent struggles for racial justice? In Faith Communities and the Fight for Racial Justice, Robert Wuthnow shows that, contrary to activists’ accusations of complacency, Black and White faith leaders have fought steadily for racial and social justice since the end of...

Robert Wuthnow has been praised as one of "the country's best social scientists" by columnist David Brooks, who hails his writing as "tremendously valuable." The New York Times calls him "temperate, balanced, compassionate," adding, "one can't but admire Mr. Wuthnow's views." A leading authority on religion, he now addresses one of the most profound subjects: the end of the world. In Be Very Afraid, Wuthnow examines the human response to existential threats--once a matter...

A major survey of the dramatic changes to American religious life in the decades after World War IIIn this book, Robert Wuthnow gathers a vast amount of information into a narrative that answers numerous questions about the clash of religion and politics in the United States during the postwar era. In particular, he deciphers the growing polarization of religious liberals and religious conservatives, a serious division that generated conflicting claims about religi...

How does religious faith contribute to happiness? The usual answer is that religious belief relieves the anxieties of ordinary life and that religious belonging provides emotional support. But a growing body of literature suggests that happiness is more complicated than that. Happiness is not only a feeling. It is a practice that we engage in actively, that we attempt to manage, and that is in many ways managed for us -- by social norms and institutions. In Nurturing Happiness, Ro...

The United States is one of the most highly educated societies on earth, and also one of the most religious. In The God Problem, Robert Wuthnow examines how middle class Americans juggle the seemingly paradoxical relationship between faith and reason.Based on exceptionally rich and candid interviews with approximately two hundred people from various faiths, this book dispels the most common explanations: that Americans are adept at keeping religion and intellect separate, ...

What makes religion so powerful? Why does it attract so many followers? Raise so much money? Influence how people vote? The usual answer is that religion is powerful because it offers divine hope. But there is more to it than that. Why does a worship service seem powerful? Why is it powerful to hear someone testify about their faith? Who sets the rules for who can be a member and who cannot? What does religion do to reinforce gender and racial differences? Or to challenge them? Religio...

An exploration of the interdisciplinary methods used to understand religious practiceReligion is commonly viewed as something that people practice, whether in the presence of others or alone. But what do we mean exactly by "practice"? What approaches help to answer this question? What Happens When We Practice Religion? delves into the central concepts, arguments, and tools used to understand religion today.Throughout the past few d...

**How the history of Texas illuminates America's post–**Civil War pastTracing the intersection of religion, race, and power in Texas from Reconstruction through the rise of the Religious Right and the failed presidential bid of Governor Rick Perry, Rough Country illuminates American history since the Civil War in new ways, demonstrating that Texas's story is also America’s. In particular, Robert Wuthnow shows how distinctions between "us" and “them” are pe...

What Kansas really tells us about red state AmericaNo state has voted Republican more consistently or widely or for longer than Kansas. To understand red state politics, Kansas is the place. It is also the place to understand red state religion. The Kansas Board of Education has repeatedly challenged the teaching of evolution, Kansas voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the state is a hotbed of antiabortion protest—and churches have be...