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Description

This collection of essays explores the varied, sometimes contradictory, and often misapprehended nature of the Promise Keepers. The various media portrayals of this group do not adequately address important questions about their significance for American religious, social, and cultural life. Is this movement anti-feminist, or are the men involved using their faith to become more responsible husbands and fathers? Is this a political movement, or just another example of an American religious revival? Using interviews, surveys, and on-site participations, the scholars writing here find little truth in the popular depictions of Promise Keepers. In fact, they demonstrate how this group represents a variety of templates that contemporary American culture brings to religion as a general social phenomenon. The volume examines the ways religion affects social movements, and also puts the current interest in men and masculinity in a larger historical context of changing gender roles. As a phenomenon that strikes right at the intersection of religion, gender, racial relations, public life, and national identity, Promise Keepers will be provocative reading for students, scholars, and educated readers alike.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Promise Keepers: A Comment on Religion and Social Movements
Chapter 2 The New and Improved Clint Eastwood: Change and Persistence in Promise Keepers Self-Help Literature
Chapter 3 Breaking Walls, Raising Fences: Masculinity, Intimacy, and Accountability among the Promise Keepers
Chapter 4 Promise Keepers and Racism: Frame Resonance as an Indicator of Organizational Vitality
Chapter 5 "We are One Life" But Not of One Gender Ideology: Unity, Ambiguity, and the Promise Keepers
Chapter 6 Who Supports the Promise Keepers?
Chapter 7 Masculinity in Context: An Epilogue

Product details

Published 16 Jul 2002
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 128
ISBN 9780585394077
Imprint Lexington Books
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

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