An antidote to the culture of fear that dominates modern lifeFrom moral panics about immigration and gun control to anxiety about terrorism and natural disasters, Americans live in a culture of fear. While fear is typically discussed in emotional or poetic terms—as the opposite of courage, or as an obstacle to be overcome—it nevertheless has very real consequences in everyday life. Persistent fear negatively effects individuals’ decision-making abilities and causes...

An "engrossing and intellectually stimulating" portrait of the countless Americans who believe in paranormal phenomena ( Journal of Religion and Culture).Popular culture makes clear that there's a seemingly insatiable public appetite for information and entertainment about what we call the paranormal, supernatural, or mystical. But how many Americans believe in the paranormal, and who are they? Based on extensive research and their own unique experiences, ...

Deviance Management examines how individuals and subcultures manage the stigma of being labeled socially deviant. Exploring high-tension religious groups, white power movements, paranormal subcultures, LGBTQ groups, drifters, recreational drug and alcohol users, and more, the authors identify how and when people combat, defy, hide from, or run from being stigmatized as “deviant.” While most texts emphasize the criminological features of deviance, the authors’ coverage here showcas...

From moral panics about immigration and gun control to anxiety about terrorism and natural disasters, Americans live in a culture of fear. While fear is typically discussed in emotional or poetic terms—as the opposite of courage or an obstacle to be overcome—it nevertheless has very real consequences in everyday life. Persistent fear negatively affects individuals’ decision-making abilities and causes anxiety, depression, and poor physical health. Furthermore, fear harms communities and so...

A venture into the art and science of measuring religion in everyday lifeIn an era of rapid technological advances, the measures and methods used to generate data about religion have undergone remarkably little change. Faithful Measures pushes the study of religion into the 21st century by evaluating new and existing measures of religion and introducing new methods for tapping into religious behaviors and beliefs.This book offers a global and innov...