Roman Catholicism in the United States: A Thematic History takes the reader beyond the traditional ways scholars have viewed and recounted the story of the Catholic Church in America. The collection covers unfamiliar topics such as anti-Catholicism, rural Catholicism, Latino Catholics, and issues related to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the U.S. government. The book continues with fascinating discussions on popular culture (film and literature), women religious, and the work of U.S. missionaries in other countries. The final section of the books is devoted to Catholic social teaching, tackling challenging and sometimes controversial subjects such as the relationship between African American Catholics and the Communist Party, Catholics in the civil rights movement, the abortion debate, issues of war and peace, and Vatican II and the American Catholic Church. Roman Catholicism in the United States examines the history of U.S. Catholicism from a variety of perspectives that transcend the familiar account of the immigrant, urban parish, which served as the focus for so many American Catholics during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. I’ve seen the future of American Catholic studies, and it is in this superb collection of consistently engaging, provocative, and well-written essays. This is now required reading for scholars and students of the Catholic experience in the United States. ---Mark Massa, S.J., Director, The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College This book is a cornucopia of outstanding critical essays from an all-star team of scholars. Collectively, the anthology offers a comprehensive treatment of Catholic history in the US, refracted through creative historical lenses that expand our notions of what it means to be “Catholic,” but also how the story of US Catholicism should be told. Each essay is a bonafide stand-alone, but collectively they weave a complex and compelling narrative of the varieties of experience within Catholicism in this land. This volume pushes back against the prevailing monochromatic linear-upward-mobility narrative of American Catholics (from the Irish Potato Famine to JFK), but in a constructive way that draws the reader into the granular level of on-the-ground Catholic life. The chapters telescope deftly between the macro-level national and geopolitical to the hyperlocal grassroots, painting a dynamic picture of how Roman Catholic social traditions seeded and grew throughout the United States. Roman Catholicism in the United States: A Thematic History has the rare virtue of being invaluable to both seasoned scholars and new arrivals to the discipline. It’s a great read. ---Jack Lee Downey, The Bread of the Strong: Lacouturisme and the Folly of the Cross, 1910-1985 Featuring a variety of contributors, from professors to priests, the volume comprises essays on Latino Catholics in the Southwest, Catholics in American popular film, American Catholic social thought, and Catholic reactions to communism― to name just a few of the volume's topics... all of the essays are informative and written in a style suitable to both novices and scholars of American Catholic history. ― Choice Any scholar currently writing books or articles on American Catholic history would do well to pick up this volume. ― American Catholic Studies The collection is suitable for advanced courses in historiography, American Catholic studies, or US Catholic history. It should be added to library collections as an important reference in Catholic history and cultural studies. ― Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society ...an excellent primer for scholars of American religious history looking for a broad introduction to US Catholic Studies. ― Religious Studies Review I’ve seen the future of American Catholic studies, and it is in this superb collection of consistently engaging, provocative, and well-written essays. This is now required reading for scholars and students of the Catholic experience in the United States. ---Mark Massa, S.J., Director, The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College, This book is a cornucopia of outstanding critical essays from an all-star team of scholars. Collectively, the anthology offers a comprehensive treatment of Catholic history in the US, refracted through creative historical lenses that expand our notions of what it means to be “Catholic,” but also how the story of US Catholicism should be told. Each essay is a bonafide stand-alone, but collectively they weave a complex and compelling narrative of the varieties of experience within Catholicism in this land. This volume pushes back against the prevailing monochromatic linear-upward-mobility narrative of American Catholics (from the Irish Potato Famine to JFK), but in a constructive way that draws the reader into the granular level of on-the-ground Catholic life. The chapters telescope