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Head and Heart: American Christianities
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 277.3
EAN: 9781594201462
ISBN: 1594201463
Label: Penguin Press HC, The
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 640
Publication Date: October 04, 2007
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Studio: Penguin Press HC, The
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Editorial Review:
A landmark examination of Christianity's place in American life across the broad sweep of this country's history, from the Puritans to the presidential administration of George W. Bush.
The struggle within American Christianity, Garry Wills argues, now and throughout our country's history, is between the head and the heart: between reason and emotion, Enlightenment and Evangelism. Why has this been so? How has the tension between the two poles played out, and with what consequences, over the past 400 years? How "Christian" is America, after all? Garry Wills brings a lifetime's worth of thought about these questions to bear on a magnificent historical reckoning that offers much needed perspective on some of the most contentious issues of our time.
A religious revolution occurred in America in the 18th century, one that saw the emergence of an Enlightenment religious culture whose hallmarks were tolerance for other faiths and a belief that religion was a matter best divorced from political institutions-the proverbial "separation of church and state." Wills shows us just how incredibly radical a departure this separation was: there was simply no precedent for it. To put this leap in perspective, Wills provides a grounding in the pre-Enlightenment religion that preceded it, beginning with the early Puritans. He then provides a thrillingly clear unpacking of the steps, particularly Madison's and Jefferson's, by which church-state separation was enshrined in the Constitution, and reveals the great irony of the efforts of today's Religious Right to blur the lines between the two. In fact, it is precisely that separation that has allowed religion in America to flourish since the disestablishment of religion created a free market, as it were, and competition for souls led to the profusion of denominations across the length and breadth of the land.
As Wills examines the key movements and personalities that have transformed America's religious landscape, we see again and again the same pattern emerge: a cooling of popular religious fervor followed by a grassroots explosion in evangelical activity, generally at a time of great social transformation and anxiety. But such forces inevitably go too far, provoking a backlash as is happening right now with the forces of Creationism and the anti-abortion fundamentalists.
Garry Wills closes with a penetrating dissection of the Religious Right's current machinations and the threat they pose to the enlightened religion that has proved to be such a fertile and enduring force throughout American history. But in the end, Wills's abiding message is to be vigilant against the triumph of emotions over reason, but to know that the tension between the two is in fact necessary, inevitable, and unending.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Varieties of Christian Experience in America!
Christianity in America is as varied as it is fervent, as diverse as it is constant. In Head and Heart, Gary Wills gives us a rich, thorough, and at many (not all) points celebratory history of Christian pluralism in America. Throughout his historical survey, Wills points out that American Christianities can be divided into two basic groups: "head" religions, which look towards the rational side of things, and "heart" religion, which focuses on the emotional side of religious experience. American ... Read More
Rating:  - A Very Garry Wills Version of Religion in America.
This book is not a history of religion in America--it is Garry Wills' commentary on both the history of American religion, the various historical studies of American religion and the current situation. So for those who are looking for a straightforward and balanced history of religion in American, look elsewhere. That said, I must say that I enjoyed reading it Wills is a very engaging writer and his basic argument--when religion and politics gets too close, religion is the loser--makes sense. ... Read More
Rating:  - misrepresentation of protestant evangelicals
Wills overgeneralizes and exaggerates the evangelical position, lumping them all into the "emotion-driven" camp. In reality, evangelicals of different denominations, and even of different congregations within each denomination, fall on both sides of the head-heart divide. In general, Baptists tend to err to the orthodoxy (head faith) extreme, neglecting orthopraxy (heart faith - faith in action). This is the position which Wills himself leans toward. The Reformed, however, almost universally err ... Read More
Rating: - Head and Heart: American Christianites
An insightful and excellent read. A must read for those interested in religion and theology.
Rating: - Poor Jesus
This is an excellent, intelligent survey of Christianity in America and farther back where necessary. There's a lot of material here, but the things I liked best were the emphasis on the wisdom of separating church and state, and the difference between Christianities based on emotion and based on intellect. This is a theme with great potential. Each approach seems insufficient by itself but the emotional assault on heaven is the way most liable to disaster. And we see numerous instances of emotionally ... Read More
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