Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America (Print Culture History in Modern America)

Mingling God and Mammon, piety and polemics, and prescriptions for this world and the next, modern Americans have created a culture of print that is vibrantly religious. From America’s beginnings, the printed word has played a central role in articulating, propagating, defending, critiquing, and sometimes attacking religious belief. In the last two centuries the United States has become both the leading producer and consumer of print and one of the most identifiably religious nations on earth. Print in every form has helped religious groups come to grips with modernity as they construct their identities. In turn, publishers have profited by swelling their lists with spiritual advice books and scriptures formatted so as to attract every conceivable niche market. Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America explores how a variety of print media—religious tracts, newsletters, cartoons, pamphlets, self-help books, mass-market paperbacks, and editions of the Bible from the King James Version to contemporary “Bible-zines”—have shaped and been shaped by experiences of faith since the Civil War. Edited by Charles L. Cohen and Paul S. Boyer, whose comprehensive historical essays provide a broad overview to the topic, this book is the first on the history of religious print culture in modern America and a well-timed entry into the increasingly prominent contemporary debate over the role of religion in American public life. Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians, and Best Books for Regional Special Interests, selected by the Public Library Association Religion And The Culture Of Print In Modern America Explores How A Variety Of Print Media - Religious Tracts, Newsletters, Cartoons, Pamphlets, Self-help Books, Mass-market Paperbacks, And Editions Of The Bible From The King James Version To Contemporary Biblezines--have Shaped And Been Shaped By Experiences Of Faith Since The Civil War.--jacket. Religion, Print Culture, And The Bible Before 1876 / Charles L. Cohen -- From Tracts To Mass-market Paperbacks: Spreading The Word Via The Printed Page In America From The Early National Era To The Present / Paul S. Boyer -- Quakers In American Print Culture, 1800-1950 / James Emmett Ryan -- The Mythic Mission Lands: Medical Missionary Literature, American Children, And Cultural Identity / Rennie B. Schoepflin -- Joseph B. Keeler, Print Culture, And The Modernization Of Mormonism, 1885-1918 / David J. Whittaker -- The Select Few: The Megiddo Message And The Building Of A Community / Gari-anne Patzwald -- Is This We Have Among Us Here A Jew? The Hillel Review And Jewish Identity At The University Of Wisconsin, 1925-31 / Jonathan Z.s. Pollack -- Fundamentalist Cartoons, Modernist Pamphlets, And The Religious Image Of Science In The Scopes Era / Edward B. Davis -- Reports From The Front Lines Of Fundamentalism: William Bell Riley's The Pilot And Its Correspondents, 1920-47 / William Vance Trollinger Jr. -- The Religious Book Club: Print Culture, Consumerism, And The Spiritual Life Of American Protestants Between The Wars / Erin A. Smith -- Psychology And Mysticism In 1940s Religion: Reading The Readers Of Fosdick, Liebman, And Merton / Matthew S. Hedstrom -- Healing Words: Narratives Of Spiritual Healing And Kathryn Kuhlman's Uses Of Print Culture, 1947-76 / Candy Gunther Brown -- New Age Feminism? Reading The Woman's New Age Nonfiction Best Seller In The United States / Karlyn Crowley -- The Bible-zine Revolve And The Evolution Of The Culturally Relevant Bible In America / Paul C. Gutjahr. Edited By Charles L. Cohen And Paul S. Boyer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Mingling God and Mammon, piety and polemics, and prescriptions for this world and the next, modern Americans have created a culture of print that is vibrantly religious. From America’s beginnings, the printed word has played a central role in articulating, propagating, defending, critiquing, and sometimes attacking religious belief. In the last two centuries the United States has become both the leading producer and consumer of print and one of the most identifiably religious nations on earth. Print in every form has helped religious groups come to grips with modernity as they construct their identities. In turn, publishers have profited by swelling their lists with spiritual advice books and scriptures formatted so as to attract every conceivable niche market. __Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America__ explores how a variety of print media—religious tracts, newsletters, cartoons, pamphlets, self-help books, mass-market paperbacks, and editions of the Bible from the King James Version to contemporary “Bible-zines”—have shaped and been shaped by experiences of faith since the Civil War. Edited by Charles L. Cohen and Paul S. Boyer, whose comprehensive historical essays provide a broad overview to the topic, this book is the first on the history of religious print culture in modern America and a well-timed entry into the increasingly prominent contemporary debate over the role of religion in American public life. Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians, and Best Books for Regional Special Interests, selected by the Public Library Association An exploration of how a variety of print media have shaped and been shaped by experiences of faith since the Civil War provides an entry into the debate over the role of religion in American public life, with contributions from Karlyn Crowley, Edward B. Davis, David J. Whitaker, and other noted scholars.