Meet the Author Robert Bellah is "a sociologist and a sermonizer, a believer in God and in reason . . His books and essays over five decades have provoked the ire of the Christian right (for economic views some find heretical)." Bellah taught sociology at Harvard University for a decade, then for three decades at the University of California - Berkeley, where he has served as Elliott Professor of Sociology, Emeritus since retiring. Bellah's recent books Read More …
Books
Review of Cathedral of the World (#0624)
Meet the Author Forrest Church (1948-2009) wrote or edited more than two dozen books and served for three decades as the minister of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City, which grew to be among the largest congregations affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association. Church received the FDR Four Freedoms Award from the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation (2008) and the Art Buchwald Spirit Award from the National Hospice Foundation (2009). Read More …
Review of Religion Gone Astray (#0611)
Meet the Authors Pastor Don Mackenzie, Rabbi Ted Falcon, and Imam Jamal Rahman have been working together on interfaith matters since shortly after September 11, 2001. A few years ago the trio together wrote their first book: Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi & a Sheikh (2009). In response to the many common questions they receive at their speaking engagements, they have now written a second Read More …
Review of The Triumph of Christianity (#0608)
Meet the Author Since 2004, Rodney Stark has been a University Professor in Social Sciences and the Co-Director of the Institute of Studies of Religion at Baylor University. Stark is an American sociologist of religion who previously taught for over thirty years at the University of Washington. He has published 30 books and more than 140 scholarly articles, mostly on religion. One of his recent books, What Americans Really Believe (2008), has been reviewed on this blog (click Read More …
Review of Divinity of Doubt (#0595)
Meet the Author Vincent Bugliosi started his legal career in the L.A. County District Attorney's office, where he successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, including receiving 21 of 21 murder convictions. In that capacity he is best known for the Charles Manson case. That experience enabled him to write Helter Skelter (1974), which remains the biggest selling true-crime book in publishing history. Since then, Bugliosi has continued Read More …
Top 11 Books Published in 2011 (#0594)
For the second year (last year's list is available here) I offer my list of the "top 10 books published this year." Since this is 2011, I have expanded the list to include eleven titles. Aboujaoude, Elias Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality Borg, Marcus Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power – And How They Can Be Restored Chaves, Mark American Religion: Contemporary Trends Chittister, Joan Happiness Kinnaman, David You Lost Read More …
Review of More (#0593)
Meet the Author Ronald Bishop is professor of communication at Drexel University. Prior to his career in academia, he was a journalist and newspaper editor. Bishop's books include More: The Vanishing of Scale in an Over-The-Top Nation (2011), When Play Was Play: Why Pick-Up Games Matter (2009), and Taking on the Pledge of Allegiance: The News Media and Michael Newdow's Constitutional Challenge (2007). Book Basics The message of More is so powerful and different Read More …
Review of Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World (#0590)
Meet the Author John Shelby Spong was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2000. Since that time he has taught at Harvard University, the University of the Pacific, and Drew University. Additionally, he delivers more than 200 public lectures each year as a visiting lecturer at churches and universities. Bishop Spong's books have sold over one million copies, including Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World (2011), Eternal Read More …
Review of Happiness (#0587)
Meet the Author Sister Joan Chittister is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA, where she served as prioress for 12 years. She is a social psychologist with a doctorate from Penn State University, the founder of Benetvision (an organization that exists to encourage the development of contemporary spirituality from a feminist and global perspective through her work), regular columnist for National Catholic Reporter, and a sought after speaker. Chittister presently Read More …
Review of Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind (#0582)
Meet the Author Mark A. Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. Previously, he taught at Wheaton College for twenty-seven years. Additionally, he has served as a visiting teacher at Harvard Divinity School, University of Chicago Divinity School, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Regent College of Vancouver, B.C. Noll is widely regarded as a leading scholar of religious and cultural history. He is a prolific author who has Read More …