About the Book
About the Book
God Bless America lifts the veil on strange and unusual religious beliefs and practices in the modern-day United States. Do Satanists really sacrifice babies? Do exorcisms involve swearing and spinning heads? Are the Amish allowed to drive cars and use computers? Offering a close look at snake handling, new age spirituality, Santeria spells, and satanic rituals, this book offers more than mere armchair research. It takes you to an exorcism, a Charismatic church and a Fundamentalist Mormon polygamist compound. You will sit among the beards and bonnets in a Mennonite church, hear the sounds of silence at a Quaker meeting, and listen to L. Ron Hubbard's sci-fi stories told as sermons during a Scientology service. From the Amish to Voodoo, the beliefs and practices explored in this book may be unorthodox, and often dangerous, but they are always fascinating. Some of them are dying out, while others are gaining popularity with a modern audience, but all offer insight into the past, present and future of religion in the United States.
About the Author
Acknowledgments. Introduction: God Bless America. Modern-Day Prophets and Polygamists: Fundamentalist Mormons. The Not-So-Simple Life: The Amish and Mennonites. Signs, Wonders, and Miracles: Charismatics and Pentecostals. Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Juju: Afro-Caribbean Religions. Full of the Devil: Demonic Possession and Exorcisms. Sympathy for the Devil: Satanism. It’s All in Your Head: Dianetics and Scientology. Something Old, Something New: New Age Spirituality. Friends in High Places: The Quakers. References. Index. About the Author.
Contents
“America was founded in a religious tolerance which was later enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. This set up a breeding ground for a motley riffraff of cults and weird beliefs—a kind of theological freak show or theological Badlands. Karen Stollznow ventured intrepidly into this ‘Here be Dragons’ territory and her book parades specimens and trophies for our amazement, described with lively good humour and analysed with a sympathetic intelligence. One of the commonest questions I am asked is what makes America so religious. Karen Stollznow's book will become an essential resource for answering it.”
—Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion
“The chapter on Scientology is fantastic. It is very specifically detailed with a clear breakdown on the belief system, various programs and abuses. This is deadly concise and makes an incredibly clear and compelling case for the utter absurdity
of the church.”
—Jamie DeWolf, great-grandson of L. Ron Hubbard
Review in The Skeptic’s Dictionary
Dr. Stollznow discusses her book on The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe
Review on Magonia
Dr. Stollznow on Strange Frequencies Radio
Dr. Stollznow interviewed about God Bless America at The Amazing Meeting
Dr. Stollznow lecturing on exorcisms
Interview by Chris Stedman
Details
ISBN: 978-1939578006 (paperback)
SRP: $14.95
Page count: 256 pages
Trim size: 6 x 9
Pub date: October 2013
Ebook availability: Yes
Audiobook availability: Yes