Living Spirit, Living Practice

Ruth Frankenberg is Professor of American Studies at the University of California, Davis. She is the author of White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness and editor of Displacing Whiteness: Essays in Social and Cultural Criticism, published by Duke University Press.

• AcknowledgmentsviiIntroduction: On Rivers, Mountains, and Secrets 11. Talking to God-and God Talking Back 332. Mind Embodied: Spiritual Practice and Consciousness 773. Place and the Making of Religious Practice 1334. The Spirit of the Work: Challenging Oppression, Nurturing Diversity 1745. Conscious Sex, Sacred Celibacy: Sexuality and the Spiritual Path 212Epilogue 265Appendix 1. Biographical Summaries 271Appendix 2. Demographic Profile 277Notes 281Bibliography 291Index 299

“Many Americans say ‘faith is an important aspect of my life,’ but Ruth Frankenberg’s fascinating book shows us in much depth and variety what that may mean. We see how individuals re-interpret their faith consciously and unconsciously, how they move across faith boundaries, how they blend, edit, and expand faith practices to generate meaningful selves, lives, and worlds.”-Susan Harding, author of The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics “The interviews and analysis in Living Spirit, Living Practice plumb the depths of spiritual practice and experience. Ruth Frankenberg simultaneously addresses the greater issues of religious identity, the meaning of ‘spirit,’ and the nature of the spiritual journey. This book makes visible the larger presence of Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism, which are now helping to alter the American religious landscape.-Kenneth K. Tanaka, coeditor of The Faces of Buddhism in America "An excellent assessment of the challenges of translating faith into everyday life." - Toni Lester (Women's Review of Books) "[Frankenberg] documents a broad diversity of ideas about the nature of religion. . . . Stories from people who relate their religious practices make entertaining reading. . . ." (Library Journal) "Frankenberg has tapped into an understudied area. . . . She has talked to people from a variety of faiths and spiritual groupings and this is creditable. . . . This is a book for our times." - Maria Way (Consciousness, Literature and the Arts)