TABLE OF CONTENTS: List of Tables ix
Preface xi
Introduction Confronting Diversity 1
Chapter 1: A Special People in a Diverse World 8
First Encounters 10
Toward a New Nation 14
From Missions to Comparative Religion 19
The Tripartite Settlement 30
Beyond Christian America? 34
Chapter 2: The New Diversity 37
American Hindus 38
American Buddhists 47
American Muslims 56
Living among Christians 63
Pluralism or Coexistence? 73
Chapter 3: The Signi .cance of Religious Diversity 75
A Threat to Democracy? 78
Fairness and Decency 84
Challenges to American Values 88
Religion as Moral Order 95
Chapter 4: Embracing Diversity: Shopping in the Spiritual Marketplace 106
Trev Granger's Story 108
Becoming a Spiritual Shopper 110
The Shopping Mentality 119
Toward a New Consciousness? 126
Chapter 5: "Many Mansions": Accepting Diversity 130
Sandra Michaelson: Beauty in Every Religion 133
Coming to Terms with Diversity 135
How to Be an Inclusive Christian 143
Envisioning an Inclusive Society 153
Chapter 6: "One Way" : Resisting Diversity 159
Trisha Mobley: "It Is Written" 160
The Road to Resistance 163
Maintaining an Exclusivist Worldview 173
The Social Implications of Christian Exclusivism 183
Chapter 7: The Public's Beliefs and Practices 188
Beliefs about Religious Truth 190
Views of America 198
The Impact of Non-Western Religions 201
Social and Cultural Factors 208
Interreligious Contact and Attitudes 212
Interreligious Programs 220
Conclusions 228
Chapter 8: How Congregations Manage Diversity 230
What Churches Are Doing 233
The Role of Theology 237
Strategies of Avoidance 244
Strategies of Engagement 247
The Imprint of Pluralism 253
Beyond Insularity? 255
Chapter 9: Negotiating Religiously Mixed Marriages 259
Falling in Love 260
Negotiating with Religious Authorities 264
The Parsing of Practices 270
Disaggregating Religious Identities 276
The Normalization of Diversity 278
From Religion to Culture 281
Chapter 10: How Pluralistic Should We Be? 286
Reflective Pluralism 287
The Case for Cooperation 292
An Effort to Promote Understanding 295
Multiple Models 299
Why Interreligious Efforts Fail 301
How Interreligious Efforts Succeed 303
What Else Needs to Be Done 305
Extrapolating to Other Kinds of Diversity 306
The Challenges Ahead 308
Notes 315
Selected Bibliography 351
Index 371
Return to Book Description File created: 4/23/2008 | 
