Edited by two very knowledgeable historians of the Catholic experience in the United States, this Cambridge Companion combines a broad overview of historical developments from the colonial period to the present with very fine topical essays. Accessible to the general reader, each chapter is self-contained as a resource for students. Written by specialists in the field, the whole emphasizes the complexity, diversity, and conflictual development of the Catholic community in the United States. The book is structured into four parts. The first part, comprising three chapters, is a chronological overview. Chapters four through thirteen cover topical issues of life and culture: worship, intellectual life, education, social welfare, women religious, politics, arts and culture, anti-Catholicism, gender and sexuality, globalization. Chapters fourteen through sixteen present issues of contemporary concern: laywomen and feminism, history and culture touching Black, Latinx, Asian, and “cultural” Catholicism. The last chapter, by Mary L. Gautier, examines sociological trends influencing future developments in population shifts, regionalism, practice and belief, and pastoral leadership. Footnoted and followed by helpful bibliographical references, each essay is well organized and in several places breaks new historical ground. A very fine introduction summarizes the historiographical trajectory of American Catholic studies. Difficult topics are addressed, and the lights and shadows of history are indicated regarding the role of women, the shaping forces of anti-Catholicism, and systemic racism. Although the editors are sensitive to the fact that the historical study of the sexual abuse crisis is only beginning (8–9), indicative references to its ripple effect in multiple areas occur in chapters by James O'Toole (60–64), James McCartin (228–229), and Paula Kane (263–264). Although all of the essays are of a high quality, this reviewer found particularly illuminating McCartin's chapter on gender and sexuality and Kane's study of laywomen and feminism. As a whole, the work could prove to be a useful tool in integrating Catholic studies into the broader range of American history. Surprisingly missing are any significant references to the groundbreaking work of the U.S. Catholic Historian, important articles in American Catholic Studies, and the two works pioneered by Dr. Christopher Kauffman, the bicentennial histories and the American Catholic identities documentary series. But this is a small caveat to a very finely presented, researched, and timely summary of the American Catholic story.
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