Lynn S. Neal - Böcker

In the world of the evangelical romance novel, sex and desire are mitigated by an omnipresent third party - the divine. Thus, romance is not just an encounter between lovers, but a triangle of affection: man, woman, and God. Although this literature is often disparaged by scholars and pastors alike, inspirational fiction plays a unique and important role in the religious lives of many evangelical women. In an engaging study of why women read evangelical romance novels, Lynn S. Neal interviews writers and readers of the genre and finds a complex religious piety among ordinary people. In evangelical love stories, the success of the hero and heroine's romance rests upon their religious choices. These fictional religious choices, readers report, often inspire real spiritual change in their own lives. Amidst the demands of daily life or during a challenge to one's faith, these books offer a respite from problems and a time for fun, but they also provide a means to cultivate piety and to appreciate the unconditional power of God's love. The reading of inspirational fiction emerges from and reinforces an evangelical lifestyle, Neal argues, but women's interpretations of the stories demonstrate the constant negotiations that characterize evangelical living. Neal's study of religion in practice highlights evangelicalism's aesthetic sensibility and helps to alter conventional understandings - both secular and religious - of this prominent subculture.

New Religious Movements (NRMs) have a long, interconnected history with distinct forms of dress and clothing. However, research on NRMs has not focused sufficiently on the clothing and material culture of these groups. In response, this Element examines the central role that dress plays in the creation of charismatic leaders and the formation of faithful followers. Through a variety of case studies – ranging from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to Father Divine, from the Children of God to the Nation of Islam – we see how dress and fashion practices provide people with a powerful way to live and wear their faith. In addition, the fashion industry takes note and incorporates ideas about cults and clothing into their trends and styles. In doing so, it fuels the cult stereotype and fosters normative understandings of what constitutes good religion.

New Religious Movements (NRMs) have a long, interconnected history with distinct forms of dress and clothing. However, research on NRMs has not focused sufficiently on the clothing and material culture of these groups. In response, this Element examines the central role that dress plays in the creation of charismatic leaders and the formation of faithful followers. Through a variety of case studies – ranging from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to Father Divine, from the Children of God to the Nation of Islam – we see how dress and fashion practices provide people with a powerful way to live and wear their faith. In addition, the fashion industry takes note and incorporates ideas about cults and clothing into their trends and styles. In doing so, it fuels the cult stereotype and fosters normative understandings of what constitutes good religion.

The story of religion in America is one of unparalleled diversity and protection of the religious rights of individuals. But that story is a muddied one. This new and expanded edition of a classroom favorite tells a jolting history-illuminated by historical texts, pictures, songs, cartoons, letters, and even t-shirts-of how our society has been and continues to be replete with religious intolerance. It powerfully reveals the narrow gap between intolerance and violence in America. The second edition contains a new chapter on Islamophobia and adds fresh material on the Christian persecution complex, white supremacy and other race-related issues, sexuality, and the role played by social media.John Corrigan and Lynn S. Neal's overarching narrative weaves together a rich, compelling array of textual and visual materials. Arranged thematically, each chapter provides a broad historical background, and each document or cluster of related documents is entwined in context as a discussion of the issues unfolds. The need for this book has only increased in the midst of today's raging conflicts about immigration, terrorism, race, religious freedom, and patriotism.

The story of religion in America is one of unparalleled diversity and protection of the religious rights of individuals. But that story is a muddied one. This new and expanded edition of a classroom favorite tells a jolting history-illuminated by historical texts, pictures, songs, cartoons, letters, and even t-shirts-of how our society has been and continues to be replete with religious intolerance. It powerfully reveals the narrow gap between intolerance and violence in America. The second edition contains a new chapter on Islamophobia and adds fresh material on the Christian persecution complex, white supremacy and other race-related issues, sexuality, and the role played by social media.John Corrigan and Lynn S. Neal's overarching narrative weaves together a rich, compelling array of textual and visual materials. Arranged thematically, each chapter provides a broad historical background, and each document or cluster of related documents is entwined in context as a discussion of the issues unfolds. The need for this book has only increased in the midst of today's raging conflicts about immigration, terrorism, race, religious freedom, and patriotism.

Shows how the fashion industry in the mid- to late twentieth century created a particular way of seeing religion as fashionableFrom cross necklaces to fashion designs inspired by nuns' habits, how have fashion sources interpreted Christianity? And how, in turn, have these interpretations shaped conceptions of religion in the United States? Religion in Vogue explores the intertwined history of Christianity and the fashion industry. Using a diverse range of fashion sources, including designs, jewelry, articles in fashion magazines, and advertisements, Lynn S. Neal demonstrates how in the second half of the twentieth century the modern fashion industry created an aestheticized Christianity, transforming it into a consumer product. The fashion industry socialized consumers to see religion as fashionable and as a beautiful lifestyle accessory—something to be displayed, consumed, and experienced as an expression of personal identity and taste. Religion was something to be embraced and shown off by those who were sophisticated and stylish, and not solely the domain of the politically conservative. Neal ultimately concludes that, through aestheticizing Christianity, the fashion industry has offered Americans a means of blending traditional elements of religion—such as ritual practice, miraculous events, and theological concepts—with modern culture, revealing a new dimension to the personal experience of religion.