History of American Religion, 1865 to Present will consider the varieties of American religious experience while keeping in mind the importance of pluralism in the U.S. context.
Robert A. Orsi’s book is a readable and sympathetic discussion of popular devotion which has as its central “character” la Madonna del Carmine herself. I call her a character because even though she does not technically act, as a Father Divine or a Salvation Army worker might, she is both the central emblem of the Italian [...]
“…the entire experience of Mt. Carmel emerged from and referred back to the people’s lives…” (163). Orsi’s analyses of the various meanings of the devotion of Mt. Carmel are filled with sentences like this – sentences that seem to fold back upon themselves. They seemed at first troublingly tautological, but one senses after [...]
In chapters 3, Robert Orsi discusses the impact the Madonna had on Italian immigrants living in Italian Harlem. The Madonna served as the cornerstone of the community. The Madonna was the lifeblood of the community who heard all their petitions and pleas for aid. Orsi also describes festivals the immigrants of Italian Harlem held to [...]