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Strange Rites

New Religions for a Godless World
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( 1,524 ratings, 309 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Strange Rites, Tara Isabella Burton explores contemporary American religion, revealing how traditional churches are no longer the primary centres of civic connection. Instead, individuals craft personalised spiritualities by blending theistic and non-theistic beliefs, merging ritual, politics, and personal practice. From Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop to cult-like fitness communities such as SoulCycle, and even to believers in a Martian destiny, this book highlights a dynamic, commercially influenced resurgence of American religious pluralism rather than secularism.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in religion, spirituality, cultural studies, and contemporary American society, as well as those curious about how modern spirituality intersects with commerce and personal identity.

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A sparklingly strange odyssey through the kaleidoscope of America's new spirituality: the cults, practices, high priests and prophets of our supposedly post-religion age.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In Strange Rites, Tara Isabella Burton takes a tour through contemporary American religiosity. As the once dominant totems of civic connection and civil discourse—traditional churches—continue to sink into obsolescence, people are looking elsewhere for the intensity and unity that religion once provided. We're making our own personal faiths—theistic or not—mixing and matching our spiritual, ritualistic, personal, and political practices in order to create our own bespoke religious selves. We're not just building new religions in 2019, we're buying them, from Gwyneth Paltrow's gospel of Goop, to the brilliantly cultish SoulCycle, to those who believe in their special destiny on Mars.

In so doing, we're carrying on a longstanding American tradition of religious eclecticism, DIY-innovation, and "unchurched" piety (and highly effective capitalism). Our era is not the dawn of American secularism, but rather a brand-bolstered resurgence of American pluralism, revved into overdrive by commerce and personalised algorithms, all to the tune of "Hallellujah"—America's most popular and spectacularly misunderstood wedding song.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as a persuasive and engaging look at the evolving religious landscape, Strange Rites has been called "a bracing tour through myriad forms of bespoke spiritualism" by The Wall Street Journal. Reviewers commend Burton for her empathetic approach, acknowledging the power and profundity behind contemporary spiritual quests beyond mere novelty. Her skillful contextualisation within religious anthropology and American culture makes it compelling for readers concerned with societal trends and spirituality.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781541762527

Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S.

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 March 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: PublicAffairs,U.S.

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 138.0mm

Height: 208.0mm

Weight: 275g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Tara Isabella Burton is a contributing editor at the American Interest, a columnist at Religion News Service, and the former staff religion reporter at Vox.com. She has written on religion and secularism for National Geographic, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and more, and holds a doctorate in theology from Oxford. She is also the author of the novel Social Creature (Doubleday, 2018).

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