The forgotten story of the nineteenth-century freethinkers and twentieth-century humanists who tried to build their own secular religionIn The Church of Saint Thomas Paine, Leigh Eric Schmidt tells the surprising story of how freethinking liberals in nineteenth-century America promoted a secular religion of humanity centered on the deistic revolutionary Thomas Paine (1737–1809) and how their descendants eventually became embroiled in the culture wars of th...

A compelling history of atheism in American public lifeA much-maligned minority throughout American history, atheists have been cast as a threat to the nation's moral fabric, barred from holding public office, and branded as irreligious misfits in a nation chosen by God. Yet, village atheists—as these godless freethinkers came to be known by the close of the nineteenth century—were also hailed for their gutsy dissent from stultifying pieties and for posing a necess...

Yoga classes and Zen meditation, New-Age retreats and nature mysticism—all are part of an ongoing religious experimentation that has surprisingly deep roots in American history. Tracing out the country’s Transcendentalist and cosmopolitan religious impulses over the last two centuries, Restless Souls explores America’s abiding romance with spirituality as religion’s better half. Now in its second edition, including a new preface, Leigh Eric Schmidt's fascinating book provides a ri...

An enlightening look at the surprising connections between spirituality and progressive thought in the United States.Religious liberalism in America is often associated with an ecumenical Protestant establishment. This book, however, draws attention to the broad diversity of liberal cultures that shapes America's religious movements.The essays gathered here push beyond familiar tropes and boundaries to interrogate religious liberalism's dense cultural leani...

Commanding, controlling and very attractive, Sheik Zafir D'Kadar Hamzah has neither the time nor inclination for distraction—and Aileah, with her unusual green eyes and thick long dark hair is undeniably a distraction. With the preparations for the fight for his birthright as King of Bahrain against the son of an old family friend at stake, he can’t afford the distraction she brings. Aileah is everything he wants with every look and every touch, he’s tempted to break all his rules…and clai...

This collection of essays explores the significance of practice in understanding American Protestant life. The authors are historians of American religion, practical theologians, and pastors and were the twelve principal researchers in a three-year collaborative project sponsored by the Lilly Endowment.Profiling practices that range from Puritan devotional writing to twentieth-century prayer, from missionary tactics to African American ritual performance, these essays provide a uni...

The nineteenth-century eccentric Ida C. Craddock was by turns a secular freethinker, a religious visionary, a civil-liberties advocate, and a resolute defender of belly-dancing. Arrested and tried repeatedly on obscenity charges, she was deemed a danger to public morality for her candor about sexuality. By the end of her life Craddock, the nemesis of the notorious vice crusader Anthony Comstock, had become a favorite of free-speech defenders and women's rights activists. She soon became as...

"A comprehensive, graceful narrative that truly represents the pluralism, momentum, and vitality of American religious life." —Amanda Porterfield, Florida State University, author of Conceived in DoubtIn this landmark work, award-winning Princeton historian Leigh Schmidt teams up with Edwin Gaustad—a scholar "in the front rank of American religious historians" ( The New York Times)—to produce a fully revised, updated, and expanded version of a mode...

Harlequin DARE brings you a collection of four new sexy contemporary romances for fun and fearless women. Available now!This box set includes:HOT BOSSby Anne MarshWith his friends Max and Dev, Jack Reed is royalty in Silicon Valley. He’s a venture capitalist, and nothing gets his heart pumping like the right deal. So when his friend and business partner Hazel proposes they partner up in the bedroom he can’t resist! And soon he can’t give her...

Harlequin DARE brings you a collection of four new sexy contemporary romances for fun and fearless women. Available now!This box set includes:HARDEN MY HART (A Notorious Harts novel)by Clare ConnellyCora Andersson can’t seem to resist Holden Hart. The hotter-than-Hades billionaire lives in his own private underworld of self-destruction, but their bodies hunger for each other and his touch s...

Harlequin DARE brings you a collection of four new sexy contemporary romances for fun and fearless women. Available now!This box set includes:CORRUPTEDby New York Times Bestselling Author Cathryn FoxLondyn Harding’s betrayal made her daddy millions and tore Cason’s heart out—which is why he can’t believe that Londyn is offering two delirious weeks, up for bid. He’ll win and take his revenge, but he won’t forget the rules: he can onl...

Harlequin DARE brings you a collection of four new sexy contemporary romances for fun and fearless women. Available now!This box set includes:UNBREAK MY HARTby Clare ConnellyHaving her way with gorgeous Barrett Byron-Moore is easy—until Avery learns that he’s been sent by the billionaire Harts to find her. Now Barrett is confusing her instincts. And the more time they spend together—touching, tasting—the deeper this...