Catholics in America

A Social Portrait

Lisa A. Keister (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

264 Seiten

2025
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
9780197753682 (ISBN)

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More than 20 percent of Americans are Catholic, and overall membership in the Catholic Church has remained relatively steady even as increasing numbers of people claim no religious affiliation. The rising prominence of Catholics in important leadership positions and critical demographic changes to the US population that have been mirrored in the Church have brought the Catholic Church and its members into public conversations, bringing renewed attention to the country's single largest religious organization. Yet misperceptions about who Catholics are today, their religious beliefs and practices, and their attitudes regarding important political and social issues are pervasive.

Catholics in America provides a contemporary social portrait of this large, increasingly influential group that clarifies who Catholics are and what they really believe. Lisa Keister, a sociologist with decades of experience studying Americans' social and economic behaviors and attitudes, draws on extensive empirical evidence to uncover the real story of today's Catholics. She offers a fresh, new glimpse into the reality of the family behaviors, work and economic status, and beliefs of Catholics. She pays particular attention to differences between those who have left, joined, and stayed with the Church, and she documents important--sometimes dramatic--differences among Catholics that may define the Church in coming decades.

The presence of Catholics in the country's highest positions and their voice in critical national conversations about issues such as abortion testify to the significance of their beliefs and attitudes. Catholics in America will be an important guide for anyone wanting to understand the personal and religious foundations of today's Catholics.

Lisa A. Keister is Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. She is also an affiliate of the Duke Network Analysis Center and the Duke Population Research Initiative. Her research focuses on elite households and the processes that explain extremes in wealth and income inequality. She also has a long-standing interest in the role that religion plays in inequality, including an interest in the changing role that Catholics play in American society.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Catholics in America

Part 1. Origins, Turning Points, and Achievements

Chapter 2: Social Origins
Chapter 3: Family: Marriage, Divorce, and Fertility
Chapter 4: Achievements: Education, Work, Income, and Wealth
Chapter 5: Catholicism Evolving: Leaving, Joining, and Staying with the Church

Part 2. Beliefs and Attitudes

Chapter 6: Religious Beliefs and Practices
Chapter 7: Politics
Chapter 8: Social Issues
Chapter 9: Conclusion

Appendix

Erscheinungsdatum	18.10.2024
Zusatzinfo	62 illustrations
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	150 x 226 mm
Gewicht	386 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Spezielle Soziologien
ISBN-13	9780197753682 / 9780197753682
Zustand	Neuware