If you find that strange and unusual religious beliefs and practices in the United States are a source of endless fascination, as I do, you may well enjoy this book, which is subtitled (straightforwardly enough) “Strange and Unusual Religious Beliefs and Practices in the United States.”
I had the chance to read through this book last weekend, and in doing so I learned about how New Age spiritualists and Voodoo practitioners work to open themselves up to good spirits, how Satanists try to open themselves up to dark magical forces (which they may not believe actually exist), and how Christian deliverance ministers attempt to deliver all of the above from these supposedly spiritual forces, which are thought by them to be profoundly evil. Oddly enough, it turns out that Catholic exorcists claim to be far more circumspect than their evangelical counterparts when it comes to rushing in where demons do not fear to tread. I also learned about Charismatics channeling the Holy Ghost, Fundamentalist Mormon polygamists evading the feds, and the perpetration of hate crimes that really only make sense against the Amish, who turn out to be vastly saucier in their courtship rituals than you would expect.
Some of these people live up to their popular stereotypes, some of the time, but you find in this book details that humanize them in unexpected ways, or turn them into far more tragic figures, and often both. I found it refreshing to look at religious movements which have grown up on U.S. soil from the perspective of an outsider to American culture, and I expect you will as well.
My brother Chas and I spoke with the author about her book earlier this week, if you want to have a listen:
