American Catholics And The Church Of Tomorrow

In the mid-twentieth century, American Catholic churches began to shed the ubiquitous spires, stained glass, and gargoyles of their European forebears, turning instead toward startling and more angular structures of steel, plate glass, and concrete. But how did an institution like the Catholic Church, so often seen as steeped in inflexible traditions, come to welcome this modernist trend? Catherine R. Osborne’s innovative new book finds the answer: the alignment between postwar advancements in technology and design and evolutionary thought within the burgeoning American Catholic community. A new, visibly contemporary approach to design, church leaders thought, could lead to the rebirth of the church community of the future. As Osborne explains, the engineering breakthroughs that made modernist churches feasible themselves raised questions that were, for many Catholics, fundamentally theological. Couldn’t technological improvements engender worship spaces that better reflected God's presence in the contemporary world? Detailing the social, architectural, and theological movements that made modern churches possible, American Catholics and the Churches of Tomorrow breaks important new ground in the history of American Catholicism, and also presents new lines of thought for scholars attracted to modern architectural and urban history.

Is the Church about to come apart? To the outsider looking in, it might seem so. On one side is "Culture One" - millions of devout Catholics who feel comfortable in the traditional Church & who resist changes that seem to accommodate modern secular culture. On the other side is "Culture Two" - millions more who seem engaged in their own personal spiritual pilgrimages, ignoring or even boldly challenging traditional control. The "two cultures of American Catholicism" exist everywhere. They're present in almost every family, in every parish, & at every level of the institutional Church. Kennedy writes of "Culture One" that it was "once so extraordinarily powerful & unified that everyone over a certain age has almost identical memories of it." In contrast, "Culture Two" believers "find their intellectual, religious, & artistic stimulation well beyond the tightly guarded borders of this quaint Catholic enclave... They no longer need 'Catholic' books or films... They are much more at home in the world in general than their parents were permitted to be." Kennedy - a perceptive observer who deeply identifies with what he sees as the best in both of these "Catholic cultures" - believes the outcome will not be schism. Instead, he envisions a Church that is enriched with more choices, more creativity, more appreciation for roots, & a greater vision for the future.

Written by one of the foremost historians of American Catholicism, this book presents a comprehensive history of the Roman Catholic Church in America from colonial times to the present. Hennesey examines, in particular, minority Catholics and developments in the western part of the United States, a region often overlooked in religious histories.

How much do American Catholics still identify with the Catholic Church? Do they agree with the Church's teachings, and how often do they participate in its sacraments? What do they think it takes to be a good Catholic? What do they consider to be the Church's core teachings? How do they believe issues of faith and morals should be decided: by the hierarchy, the laity, or some combination of the two? How are they coping with the priest shortage, and what do they believe the Church should do to solve the problem? How do they feel about social issues such as capital punishment and increased military spending? In American Catholics, four distinguished sociologists use national surveys from 1999, 1993, and 1987 to examine these issues. They show that Catholics' beliefs and practices are changing. They also demonstrate how differences in gender, generation, and commitment to the Church influence attitudes on all of these issues. Balanced and clear, filled with useful tables and charts, and unique in its ability to compare results over time, American Catholics makes essential reading for anyone interested in the future of Catholicism in the United States.

Originally published in 1988. The new-found freedom and changing attitudes towards Catholics after the American Revolution presented the Catholic Church with its first real opportunity to prosper in the English speaking "new world". But the Catholic Church could not take advantage of this opportunity unless it shook off some of its "old world" characteristics and became accustomed to the American environment. This study attempts to analyse the very nature of American Catholicism by investigating the impact of the American environment on the development of the Catholic Church in American during the episcopacy of John Carroll. This title will be of interest to students of history and religious studies.

American Catholics in Transition reports on five surveys carried out at six year intervals over a period of 25 years, from 1987 to 2011. The surveys are national probability samples of American Catholics, age 18 and older, now including four generations of Catholics. Over these twenty five years, the authors have found significant changes in Catholics’ attitudes and behavior as well as many enduring trends in the explanation of Catholic identity. Generational change helps explain many of the differences. Many millennial Catholics continue to remain committed to and active in the Church, but there are some interesting patterns of difference within this generation. Hispanic Catholics are more likely than their non-Hispanic peers to emphasize social justice issues such as immigration reform and concern for the poor; and while Hispanic millennial women are the most committed to the Church, non-Hispanic millennial women are the least committed to Catholicism. In this fifth book in the series, the authors expand on the topics that were introduced in the first four editions. The authors are able to point to dramatic changes in and across generations and gender, especially regarding Catholic identity, commitment, parish life, and church authority. William V. D’Antonio, Michele Dillon, and Mary L. Gautier provide timely information pertaining to Catholics’ views regarding current pressing issues in the Church, such as the priest shortage and alternative liturgical arrangements and same-sex marriage. The authors, also, provides the first full portrayal of how the growing numbers of Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. are changing the Church.