This book aims to contribute to those reflections on religion that are cropping up at the end of the millennium by offering a sobering, realistic, and hopeful assessment of where the church is now, and where the church is heading.

"There is much to be learned here about the manner in which culture has both created and been influenced by the organizational forms of the Christian faith."--Journal of Church and State "This is the work of a man who cares about the future of individuals, community life, and the church....He has a broad knowledge of religious studies as well as a rich trove of personal anecdotes from the lives of church members and leaders"--Commonweal "His remarks...are insightful....I commend Wuthnow for his felicity of style, his ability to tell a story, and his skill at discovering in narratives hints of larger patterns of social and cultural significance"--Christian Century "Robert Wuthnow, one of the best sociologists of religion in America, has written a very sensitive and perceptive book about the present condition of American religion viewed through the prism of possible future developments and challenges. The book is neither a lifeless analysis of data nor a widely speculative polemic on religion to date. Rather it is a superb exercise in sociological analysis of possibilities and prospect for religion in America. It should be essential reading both for sociologists and for those concerned about the present and the future of the Church."--Andrew M. Greeley, Professor of Social Science, The University of Chicago "Discursive and deeply thoughtful....Wuthnow combines personal stories with references to scholarly works and to current events, enhancing the relevance of each aspect of his study as he builds to his cautiously optimistic conclusions."--Publishers Weekly "There is much to be learned here about the manner in which culture has both created and been influenced by the organizational forms of the Christian faith."--Journal of Church and State "This is the work of a man who cares about the future of individuals, community life, and the church....He has a broad knowledge of religious studies as well as a rich trove of personal anecdotes from the lives of church members and leaders"--Commonweal "His remarks...are insightful....I commend Wuthnow for his felicity of style, his ability to tell a story, and his skill at discovering in narratives hints of larger patterns of social and cultural significance"--Christian Century "Robert Wuthnow, one of the best sociologists of religion in America, has written a very sensitive and perceptive book about the present condition of American religion viewed through the prism of possible future developments and challenges. The book is neither a lifeless analysis of data nor a widely speculative polemic on religion to date. Rather it is a superb exercise in sociological analysis of possibilities and prospect for religion in America. It should be essential reading both for sociologists and for those concerned about the present and the future of the Church."--Andrew M. Greeley, Professor of Social Science, The University of Chicago "Discursive and deeply thoughtful....Wuthnow combines personal stories with references to scholarly works and to current events, enhancing the relevance of each aspect of his study as he builds to his cautiously optimistic conclusions."--Publishers Weekly "There are a few historians of modern American religion who write as insightfully as Robert Wuthnow about the recent past, a few sociologists who are his equal in describing the institutional and cultural shape of modern religion, and a few narrators of Christian experience who go a little deeper than Wuthnow into the inner life of faith. But no living scholar combines so well historical, sociological, and lived commentary on religion in contemporary America. No one is better equipped to canvass the prospects of Christianity for the twenty-first century. No one at all."--Mark A. Noll, McManis Professor of Christian Thought, Wheaton College "With this book Robert Wuthnow ratifies his status as one of the most authoritative social scientists working on problems of religion in the contemporary world. He provides a broad and magisterial overview of all the major issues confronting Christians and other believers today--institutional, moral, and intellectual. Throughout it is clear that Wuthnoe is not only an astute observer, but also an individual who has grappled himself with the issues discussed. His book represents a remarkable achievement in what is already a distinguished career."--Peter L. Berger, University Professor of Sociology, Boston University "A decade of at least some of the best scholarship on contemporary Christianity has been gathered and sifted here by Wuthnow into a lucid and compelling portrait of 'the future and the present.' Religious leaders--by lay and clergy--from across the entire spectrum of church life will be both sobered and inspired by the changes he articulates so clearly. Scholars will find an apt reading of a vast and important literature."--Craig Dykstra, Vice President, Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Robert Wuthnow is Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of American Religion at Princeton University. He is the author of ten books, including Rediscovering the Sacred, Acts of Compassion, and The Restructuring of American Religion.