Passing on the faith : transforming traditions for the next generation of Jews, Christians, and Muslims / edited by James L. Heft.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Heft, James.

Series:

Abrahamic dialogues series

The Abrahamic dialogues series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Monotheism.

Judaism.

Christianity.

Islam.

Physical Description:

x, 321 pages ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Fordham University Press, 2006.

Summary:

From the beginning, the Abrahamic faiths-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-have stressed the importance of transmitting religious identity from one generation to the next. Today, that sustaining mission has never been more challenged. Will young people have a faith to guide them? How can they anchor religious attachments in this secular; skeptical culture? The fruit of a historic gathering of scholars and religious leaders across three faiths and many disciplines, this important book reports on the religious lives of young people in today's world. It's also a unique inventory of creative responses from churches, synagoges, and mosques working to keep religion a significant force in those lives.

Opening the book, Melchor Sanchez de Toca and Nancy Ammerman explore fundamental issues affecting religion-from the cultural effects of global consumerism and personal technology to pluralism and individualism. Next, leading investigators present the three most important studies of religiosity among young people and college students in the United States. They illuminate the tensions between personal values and organized religious involvement-and the emergence of new, different forms of spirituality and faith.

How religious institutions deal with these challenges forms the heart of the book-with portraits of "best practices" that can revitalize traditional institutions, from a synagogue in New York City and a Muslim youth camp in California to the famed Christian ecumenical community of Taize, France. Finally, two incisive evaluations-by Jack Miles and Diane Winston-incorporate the findings and perspectives into a broader perspective on the future of religious belief, practice, and feeling in a changing world. Rich with insight, filled with real-world wisdom. Passing on the Faith is an essential resource for anyone-lay and religious, pastoral and academic-seeking to understand what religions must, and can, do to inspire a vigorous faith in the next generation.

Contents:

Introduction: Youth and the continuity of religious traditions / James L. Heft

Section I. National and International Overviews:

Looking for God: religious indifference in perspective / Melchor Sánchez de Toca

Journeys of faith: meeting the challenges in twenty-first-century America / Nancy Ammerman

Section II. Three Recent National Studies:

Is moralistic therapeutic deism the new religion of American youth?: implications for the challenge of religious socialization and reproduction / Christian Smith

The "interior" lives of American college students: preliminary findings from a national study / Jennifer A. Lindholm

Congregations that get it: understanding religious identities in the next generation / Tobin Belzer, Richard W. Flory, Nadia Roumani, and Brie Loskota

Section III. Passing on the Faith to the Next Generation of Jews:

BJ: a portrait of a revitalized synagogue / J. Rolando Matalon

Current expressions of American Jewish identity: an analysis of 114 teenagers / Philip Schwadel

Section IV. Passing on the Faith to the Next Generation of Christians:

A spiritual crossroads of Europe: the Taizé community's adventure with the young / Brother John of Taizé

Religious identity and belonging amidst diversity and pluralism: challenges and opportunities for church and theology / Peter C. Phan

Section V. Passing on the Faith to the Next Generation of Muslims:

Identity and community in a new generation: the Muslim community in the early seventh century and today / Ghada Osman

Making safe space for questioning for young American Muslims / Amira Quraishi

Second-generation Muslim immigrants in Detroit mosques: the second generation's search for their place and identity in the American mosque / Ihsan Bagby

Section VI. Two Evaluations of the Research:

The leisure of worship and the worship of leisure / Jack Miles

Teach your children well: closing observations on constructing religious identity in the next generation / Diane Winston

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [275]-294) and index.

ISBN:

9780823226474

0823226476

9780823226481

0823226484

OCLC:

74941270