I'm working on my syllabus for Religion 260: American Religion. To that end I've been reading, along with other things, the
Columbia Guide to Religion in American History. I concur with one reviewer's judgment that while one generally does not expect a reference work to be summer reading, several of the chapters in this volume are compelling and fascinating enough to qualify. The chapter by Andrew M. Manis on "Civil Religion and National Identity" is among those. I learned lots and will learn more from the book and from works included in each chapter's bibliography.
Coming to the book immediately after three days in a workshop on teaching writing, I admired the writing in several of the chapters and will use examples to illustrate a clear, informative, engaging introduction and generally admirable writing. For example, Mark Noll begins his chapter on theology this way.
"Americans have changed the world much more by action than by thought. In the religious realm, it is the same."
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