A Nation of Religions: The Politics of Pluralism in Multireligious America Book

The United States has long been described as a nation of immigrants, but it is also a nation of religions in which Muslims and Methodists, Buddhists and Baptists live and work side by side. This book explores that nation of religions, focusing on how four recently arrived religious communities—Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs—are shaping and, in turn, shaped by American values. The contributors to this volume take U.S. religious diversity not as a proposition to be proved but as the truism it has become. This conversation makes an important contribution to the intensifying public debate about the appropriate role of religion in American politics and society.

Publishers Weekly

Prothero, author of the critically acclaimed American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon, edits this uncoordinated exploration of how various religions outside the Judeo-Christian umbrella have been affected by the American political process. Chapters focus on how Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims are becoming more politically involved, seeking recognition of their holidays and espousing their values in the public square. Although American Muslims appear to be the most politically involved of the surveyed groups, the chapters on them are weak, citing outdated statistics. The other chapters on Buddhists and religious-themed legal challenges are accurate but sometimes densely academic. Although the essays are uneven, Prothero is to be admired for tackling this topic, as members of these religions are sometimes wrongly regarded as politically invisible. The brightest light is the edifying section on Hindus and Sikhs: Syracuse University professor Prema Kurien explains how the American Hindu community envies the attention American Muslims have received since 9/11, and UC-Santa Barbara professor Gurinder Singh Mann writes a fascinating capsule history of Sikhs in America. (Oct. 30) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.