Books in the North American Religions series

Shows that a religious understanding of illness and health persisted well into post-Enlightenment early AmericaThe COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the power of narrative during times of sickness and disease. As Americans strive to find meaning amid upheaval and loss, some consider the nature of God¿s will. Early American Protestants experienced similar struggles as they attempted to interpret the diseases of their time. In this groundbreaking work, Philippa Koch explores the doctrine of providence¿a belief in a divine plan for the world¿and its manifestations in eighteenth-century America, from its origins as a consoling response to sickness to how it informed the practices of Protestant activity in the Atlantic world. Drawing on pastoral manuals, manuscript memoirs, journals, and letters, as well as medical treatises, epidemic narratives, and midwifery manuals, Koch shows how Protestant teachings around providence shaped the lives of believers even as the Enlightenment seemed to portend a more secular approach to the world and the human body. Their commitment to providence prompted, in fact, early Americans¿ active engagement with the medical developments of their time, encouraging them to see modern science and medicine as divinely bestowed missionary tools for helping others. Indeed, the book shows that the ways in which the colonial world thought about questions of God¿s will in sickness and health help to illuminate the continuing power of Protestant ideas and practices in American society today.

A historical and ethnographic study of Haitian religion in immigrant communities, based on fieldwork in both Miami and Haiti.

Weiner's innovative work encourages scholars to pay much greater attention to the publicly contested sensory cultures of American religious life.

Mexican American folk and religious healing, often referred to as curanderismo, has been a vital part of life in the Mexico-US border region for centuries. This book examines the ongoing evolution of Mexican American religious healing from the end of the nineteenth century to the present.

Drawing on five years of research with pilgrims before, during and after their trips, this book offers a lived religion approach that explores the trip's hybrid nature for pilgrims themselves: both ordinary - tied to their everyday role as the family's ritual specialists, and extraordinary - since they leave home in a dramatic way.

Examines the religious dimensions of Ralph Ellison¿s concept of race Ralph Ellison¿s 1952 novel Invisible Man provides an unforgettable metaphor for what it means to be disregarded in society. While the term ¿invisibility¿ has become shorthand for all forms of marginalization, Ellison was primarily concerned with racial identity. M. Cooper Harriss argues that religion, too, remains relatively invisible within discussions of race and seeks to correct this through a close study of Ralph Ellison¿s work.Harriss examines the religious and theological dimensions of Ralph Ellison¿s concept of race through his evocative metaphor for the experience of blackness in America, and with an eye to uncovering previously unrecognized religious dynamics in Ellison¿s life and work. Blending religious studies and theology, race theory, and fresh readings of African-American culture, Harriss draws on Ellison to create the concept of an ¿invisible theology,¿ and uses this concept as a basis for discussing religion and racial identity in contemporary American life.Ralph Ellison¿s Invisible Theology is the first book to focus on Ellison as a religious figure, and on the religious dynamics of his work. Harriss brings to light Ellison¿s close friendship with theologian and literary critic Nathan A. Scott, Jr., and places Ellison in context with such legendary religious figures as Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr, Paul Tillich and Martin Luther King, Jr. He argues that historical legacies of invisible theology help us make sense of more recent issues like drone warfare and Clint Eastwood¿s empty chair.Rich and innovative, Ralph Ellison¿s Invisible Theology will revolutionize the way we understand Ellison, the intellectual legacies of race, and the study of religion.

Explores the deeper tension between the ideal of Puritan family life and its messy reality, complicating the way America has thought about its Puritan past

This compelling work examines classic and contemporary Jewish and African American children's literature