Catholicism and American Freedom: A History

by John T. McGreevy

Overview

"A brilliant book, which brings historical analysis of religion in American culture to a new level of insight and importance." —New York Times Book Review

Catholicism and American Freedom is a groundbreaking historical account of the tensions (and occasional alliances) between Catholic and American understandings of a healthy society and the individual person, including dramatic conflicts over issues such as slavery, public education, economic reform, the movies, contraception, and abortion. Putting scandals in the Church and the media's response in a much larger context, this stimulating history is a model of nuanced scholarship and provocative reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393326086
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	09/17/2004
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John T. McGreevy is Provost and Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and the award-winning author of three books on Catholicism and many essays. His work has been published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the New York Review of Books, The New Republic, Commonweal, and other outlets. He lives in South Bend, Indiana.

Editorial Reviews

"Fascinating...a meditation on power and its shadow, marginality; on freedom, and its inevitable price, unfreedom."

The Nation - JoAnn Wypijewski

"A masterpiece that will be read eagerly not only for its insights into Catholic history but also for its rich understanding of American history."

E. J. Dionne

"A laser-like examination of the central tension between Catholicism and the American experiment. Deeply intelligent, well written, and based on wide research in original sources, this will be the standard work for a long time to come."

Charles Morris

"Delightfully complicating American intellectual history, [McGreevy] shows how Catholicism has offered an alternative to dominant understandings of liberty and progress."

Chicago Tribune - Peter D'Agostino

"[McGreevy] has written the best intellectual history of the Catholic Church in America."

Commonweal - Neil Coughlin

"More than any book I have read, McGreevy's shows how constituent and various an element Catholicism, in its several strains, has been in shaping this nation."

Boston Sunday Globe - Katherine A. Powers