Book Description

In two editions over 40 years, Edwin Gaustad's Atlas of American Religion has been an essential guide to the American religious experience. Now the New Historical Atlas of Religion in America takes the story into the new millennium. Expanded, reorganized, and now in full color, the new edition of this classic reference work is an arresting visual and narrative portrait of the growth, development, and diversity of America's communities of faith across nearly 400 years. Here is a vastly more complex American religious life--from the decline of mainstream Protestantism to the emergence of evangelical churches and the growing influence of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and other faiths. Parts One and Two are a history--in maps and text--of American religions. Part Three focuses in-depth on Lutherans, Mormons, and Roman Catholics. Part Four examines the political, cultural, and social aspects of religion in American public life. Lavishly illustrated with full-color maps, charts, and diagrams, the new Atlas is an essential resource for all readers--students, teachers, scholars, and everyone seeking to understand the remarkable religious history of the United States.