Author

Publication

2009 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, USA, Massachusetts

Language

English

Word Count

96,250 words, Guess

Page Count

385 pages

Identifiers

and 5 more

Classifications

  • DDC282.092
  • DDCB
  • LCCBX4705.C327 A3 2009
and 1 more
  • LCCBX4705.C327A3 2009

Description

This personal history of the American Catholic Church during writer Carroll's lifetime traces the transformation of a medieval institution, suspicious of American ideas of freedom and democracy, into a church that has begun to embrace basic American principles of pluralism and respect for conscience. The book tells the story of heroes (Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton, Cardinal Richard Cushing, William Sloane Coffin), and great events (Vatican II, the Kennedys, the end of the Cold War). Considering the new meaning of belief in a secular world, it stands against the fundamentalisms of "neo-atheists" as well as of born-again Christians. The book shows how and why the world needs a renewed, rational, vital Catholic Church. For Carroll, faith is a practice--like all practice, it aims at getting better.--From publisher description. An evaluation of America's impact on Catholicism draws on the author's life and experiences to trace the church's transformation from a reactionary monolith to an institution in which the deepest aspects of faith are being re-examined.

Description

This personal history of the American Catholic Church during writer Carroll's lifetime traces the transformation of a medieval institution, suspicious of American ideas of freedom and democracy, into a church that has begun to embrace basic American principles of pluralism and respect for conscience. The book tells the story of heroes (Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton, Cardinal Richard Cushing, William Sloane Coffin), and great events (Vatican II, the Kennedys, the end of the Cold War). Considering the new meaning of belief in a secular world, it stands against the fundamentalisms of "neo-atheists" as well as of born-again Christians. The book shows how and why the world needs a renewed, rational, vital Catholic Church. For Carroll, faith is a practice--like all practice, it aims at getting better.--From publisher description. An evaluation of America's impact on Catholicism draws on the author's life and experiences to trace the church's transformation from a reactionary monolith to an institution in which the deepest aspects of faith are being re-examined.

Subjects

Genres

  • Biography

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