This image is the cover for the book Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Practice in North America

Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Practice in North America

A collection of essays providing an extensive history of Catholicism in America from numerous perspectives.

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 US government. The book continues with fascinating discussions on popular culture (film and literature), women religious, and the work of US 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 US 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.

Praise for Roman Catholicism in the United States

“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

“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

Margaret M. McGuinness, James T. Fisher

Margaret M. McGuinness is Professor of American Catholicism at La Salle University. She is the author of Neighbors and Missionaries: A History of the Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine and Called to Serve: A History of Nuns in America.

James T. Fisher was Professor of Theology and American Studies at Fordham University. His most recent books are Communion of Immigrants: A History of Catholics in America and On the Irish Waterfront: The Crusader, the Movie, and the Soul of the Port of New York.

Fordham University Press