
The Heart of Religion
Spiritual Empowerment, Benevolence, and the Experience of God's Love
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 10. January 2013
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-19-993188-0 (ISBN)
Description
Research has shown the important role of religious social networks in fostering benevolence, but some questions have remained: Why are people who frequently pray or attend church more generous with their time and money? Why does one religious group rather than another get involved in certain forms of outreach? Drawing on an extensive survey of 1,200 Christian men and women across the United States, as well as 120 in-depth interviews, Matthew T. Lee, Margaret M. Poloma, and Stephen G. Post offer a deeper and more nuanced study of religion and benevolence, finding that it is the experience of God as loving that activates religious networks and moves people to do good for others.
Lee, Poloma and Post show that, for many Americans, love underlies both authoritative and benevolent images of God. The authors discover that encounters with God's love are frequent-eight out of ten respondents to the survey said that that they had felt God's love increasing their compassion for others-and that such experiences take on very different meanings depending on social context. These encounters can be intensely transformative, both for individuals and their communities. The book provides countless examples of how receiving God's love, loving God, and expressing this love impacted the lives of the Christians they interviewed. Some began to provide community service, others to strive for social justice, still others to seek to redefine religion and the meaning of "church " in America. Many of the interviewees discarded the judgmental image of God they knew as children in favor of a loving and accepting representation of God that is more consistent with their direct, personal, and affectively intense experiences.
The Heart of Religion will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in how perceptions of God affect communities in America.
Lee, Poloma and Post show that, for many Americans, love underlies both authoritative and benevolent images of God. The authors discover that encounters with God's love are frequent-eight out of ten respondents to the survey said that that they had felt God's love increasing their compassion for others-and that such experiences take on very different meanings depending on social context. These encounters can be intensely transformative, both for individuals and their communities. The book provides countless examples of how receiving God's love, loving God, and expressing this love impacted the lives of the Christians they interviewed. Some began to provide community service, others to strive for social justice, still others to seek to redefine religion and the meaning of "church " in America. Many of the interviewees discarded the judgmental image of God they knew as children in favor of a loving and accepting representation of God that is more consistent with their direct, personal, and affectively intense experiences.
The Heart of Religion will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in how perceptions of God affect communities in America.
Reviews / Votes
This is an important and timely text...This is among the first studies to shed real light on the processes whereby powerful experiences of divine love engender efforts to foster a more socially just world. Accordingly, this book is likely to be of interest to anyone interested in how spirituality is impacting contemporary culture. * Sociology of Religion *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
698 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-993188-0 (9780199931880)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Matthew T. Lee | Margaret M. Poloma | Stephen G. Post
The Heart of Religion
Spiritual Empowerment, Benevolence, and the Experience of God's Love
E-Book
12/2012
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€18.49
Available for download

Matthew T. Lee | Margaret M. Poloma | Stephen G. Post
The Heart of Religion
Spiritual Empowerment, Benevolence, and the Experience of God's Love
E-Book
11/2012
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€22.99
Available for download
Persons
ML: Interim Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Akron; MP: Research Professor of Sociology, University of Akron, SP: Professor of Preventive Medicine, Head of the Division of Medicine in Society, Stony Brook University
Author
Associate Professor of SociologyAssociate Professor of Sociology, University of Akron
Research Professor of SociologyResearch Professor of Sociology, University of Akron
Professor of Preventive Medicine and Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and BioethicsProfessor of Preventive Medicine and Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics, Stony Brook University
Content
Acknowledgements ; List of Tables and Figures ; Introduction ; Chapter 1: Why Should We Care about Godly Love? ; Chapter 2: Diversities in the Experience and Expression of Godly Love ; Chapter 3: Introducing the Exemplars of Godly Love ; Chapter 4: Partnering with the Divine: Spiritual Transformation and Godly Love ; Chapter 5: The Breath of Prayer: Energizing Godly Love ; Chapter 6: The Cup of Suffering and Joy: Divine Love and Healing ; Chapter 7: Human Partners and Godly Love: Relationships Forming Fluid Networks ; Chapter 8: Benevolence in the Eyes of the Beholder: Effects of Social Filters ; Conclusion: Cultural Grids and Biblical Holes ; Notes ; Index