Being Religious American Style

Popular religion rarely expresses itself in the artifacts of high culture. In this book, Lippy approaches the study of popular religion by asking how ordinary people have gone about the process of being religious in America. Along the way, he examines popular religious periodicals, newspapers, novels, diaries, devotional materials, hymnals, promotional materials for revivals and camp meetings, religious tracts, as well as vernacular art and architecture, other artifacts, and, especially in the 20th century, radio, film, and television.

He avoids the traditional focus on religious movements and institutions, choosing instead to illuminate the cultural impact of what people in America think and do when they are being religious by highlighting aspects of private life. Review: ?Rather than revisiting American religious history through its established movements and institutions, as it is typically explored, Lippy delves into the ways ordinary people have gone about being religious...A highly readable, scholarly work of value to academic and large general collections.?-Library Journal