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Title: The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics by Andrew M. Greeley ISBN: 0-684-82682-8 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: August, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Every Catholic should read this - especially the ordained...
Comment: This is a truly wonderful book. It IS dense and it is worth every moment spent reading it. You cannot help but find yourself represented somewhere amongst all the respondents surveyed. I have reread it several times over the years and it continues to reassure me and verify my experiences in the Church. I have often been mystified by the presumptions others make about Catholics and Catholicism because the presumptions do not fit my experience at all - and I did not consider my experience or beliefs atypical. The book makes clear the widespread presumptions do not fit with the experiences of entire generations of Catholics in recent history! I would like very much to see a reprint of this book with updated data (or a follow up book). Many of Fr. Greeley's predictions about the Church as it enters the new millenia have no doubt come to pass and I, for one, would like a look at the numbers. It is a great pity Church leaders are not more interested in and responsive to this research. If they were, the Church today would undoubtedly be an even more robust and inclusive home base for Catholics today. This book is also a great treat for fans of the author's novels, which he was inspired to write by some of the findings reported here. This somewhat academic work points up just how deft he is at weaving both harsh and beautiful realities - confirmed by the data, of course - into highly entertaining parables that are themselves unforgettable experiences of grace.
Rating: 3
Summary: Not rigorous enough
Comment: Greeley tried to make a statistical analysis of just about everything you could think of regarding Catholics approachable, and does a disservice in the way he does it. No charts! No graphs! And Greeley repeatedly mentions "statistical significance", which is dangerous, because it's so often misconstrued.
The quips that introduce each chapter are lively and probably meant to keep the reader going. I learned a decent amount of facts about Catholics and the C/church, most of which seem to make sense and most of which I agree with. (Admittedly, much of it did not matter to me one way or the other, but then again, there's something in the book for everyone.)
I wasn't prepared for what Greeley wrote at the end of the book. I just can't go back and read any of his books now, fact or fiction. All in all, many people would find it dry, those who want a rigorous analysis will be disappointed, and most Catholics would either be offended by Greeley or at least surprised by how forward he is in some ways. Not a bad book, but not great either. econ
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth slogging through...
Comment: Some readers might find this book a bit of a challenge in terms of Greeley's analysis of his years of sociological data, but stick with it... out of the swirling mist of numbers emerges a fascinating study of modern religion in America.
Greeley's sociological sleight-of-hand manages to address (and smash) many myths about the Catholic church. If you think belief is declining in young Catholics... if you believe they are leaving the Church in record numbers... if you think they shed their Catholic consciousness (what Greeley calls their "Catholic imagination") the second they quit Sunday school ... well, you're in for a few surprises.
So buckle up and stick with this book... it's a wild (and inspiring) ride!
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Title: The Catholic Imagination by Andrew M. Greeley ISBN: 0520232046 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Great Mysteries: Experiencing Catholic Faith from the Inside Out by Andrew M. Greeley, Robert, Reverend Barron ISBN: 1580511317 Publisher: Sheed and Ward Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Catholic Revolution : New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council by Andrew Greeley ISBN: 0520238176 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 10 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: A People Adrift : The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America by Peter Steinfels ISBN: 0684836637 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: A Concise History of the Catholic Church by THOMAS BOKENKOTTER ISBN: 0385505841 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 20 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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