The secular Northwest : religion and irreligion in everyday postwar life / Tina Block.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Block, Tina Marie, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Secularism--British Columbia--History--20th century.

Secularism.

Irreligion--British Columbia--History--20th century.

Irreligion.

Religion.

History.

British Columbia--Religion--20th century.

British Columbia.

Secularism--Washington (State)--History--20th century.

Irreligion--Washington (State)--History--20th century.

Washington (State)--Religion--20th century.

Washington (State).

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 231 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Vancouver ; Toronto : UBC Press, [2016]

Summary:

"The image of a rough frontier--where working men were tempted away from church on Sundays by more profane concerns--was perpetuated by postwar church leaders, who decried the decline of religious involvement on the west coast. The Secular Northwest debunks the myth of a godless frontier, revealing a Pacific Northwest that was serious about its secularity, consciously rejecting the trappings of organized religion but not necessarily spirituality--and not necessarily God. In this pioneering new book, Tina Block challenges notions of feminine piety and spiritual practice, reconceiving the role of religion in the postwar era. Women, families, and middle-class communities all helped to shape Northwest secularism, but the freedom to be religiously uninvolved came at a cost: the rejection of religion often led to family, gender, and class tensions. Drawing on oral histories, census data, news articles, and private archives, Block paints irreligion as a dynamic element of Northwest identity, grounded in the region's unique geography, the cultural permeability of the Canada United States border, the independent spirit of those who called the region home, and their openness to secular ways of experiencing the world."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Constructing the secular Northwest : the view from the churches

A "mounting tide of criticism" : the challenge to organized religion

Class, gender, and religious involvement

Belief and unbelief

"The closest thing to me" : religion, irreligion, and the family

"So much sin amid so much beauty" : secularity and regional identity

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 210-223) and index.

Other Format:

Block, Tina Marie, 1971-, author. Secular Northwest.

ISBN:

9780774831284

0774831286

OCLC:

933273266