Catholic Culture in the USA

In and Out of Church

John Portmann

• Publisher: Continuum
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9780826441386
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

This study of American Catholicism summarizes a widespread contemporary tendency to adapt traditional spirituality to a world of moral diversity, to hold onto some essential portions of religious experience in an increasingly secular world.
Catholic Culture in the USA articulates what is perhaps only implicit in other scholarship with regard to how theological teachings trickle down from the Vatican and influence decisions about food, marriage, sex, community celebrations, and medical care. John Portmann defends these Catholic dissidents and explores alternative expressions of Catholic devotion. Taking a holistic approach, the author indicates cultural change as resulting from interaction among individual rights assertions, grassroots mobilization, scholarly production and legislative innovation.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1 Who Are Cultural Catholics?
• 2 European Origins
• 3 Baptisms, Weddings, and Funerals
• 4 A Brief Sketch of Catholic Dissent in the United States
• 5 A Pope’s Apology
• 6 What Would the Virgin Mary Do?
• 7 Family Romances
• Postscript
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index