Souls of the City: Religion and the Search for Community in Postwar America

Who has time for community in the modern metropolis? The answer may surprise you: apparently lots of us. As this book discusses, religious communities have long been an important way for people in all parts of the modern city to come together. Whether in new suburban subdivisions, in rural areas undergoing change, or in inner-city neighborhoods, people of all social backgrounds, races, and economic means have used their congregations as a way to set down new roots and to hold on to old ones. Focusing on Indianapolis, Indiana, a city in America's geographical and cultural heartland, "Souls of the City" describes the range of changes to America's cities and American religion during the last decades of the 20th century. In showing the historical ability of religious congregations to become "places" of worship, this book challenges those who lament the soulless nature of modern metropolitan life.