The Bible in American Life

“The breadth of the essays on offer in this volume is truly impressive. . . . This book, or selected essays in it, could be put to excellent use in a variety of college courses, whether introductory or higher level, as well as being of use to anyone who wants to learn and think deeply about the historic and ongoing presence and influence of the Bible in daily American life.”

—Kipp Gilmore-Clough, Religion

“Goff, Farnsley, and Thuesen have prepared a feast full of fat insights and sweet research. The questions they raise will enable pastors and professors to better prepare sermons and classes with an eye toward ecumenical dialogue.”

—Zen Hess, Christian Century

“[T]his text adds to the growing library of scholarship that seeks to understand how we, as Americans, arrived at our public discourses regarding the Bible and Christianity in general, and perhaps, to remind us all that the Bible has been and remains more than a political tool.”

—Terry L. Nugent, Reading Religion

“A reviewer cannot do justice to the twenty-eight chapters which comprise this book, each of which could handily and fairly attract book-length treatment.”

—Martin E. Marty, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

“This collection of essays offers a cornucopia of new data, old data cast in fresh light, clear writing, deep research, and arresting insights about the unparalleled role of the Bible in American culture. The editors’ introductory summary of recent quantitative studies of the Bible’s presence in contemporary daily life, and Mark Noll’s rumination on the meaning of the Bible for understanding the nation’s history, form impressive bookends for two-dozen ground-breaking chapters, crafted by experts in American religion. Collections come and go, but this one will stand the test of time.”

—Grant Wacker, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Christian History, Duke Divinity School