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Preface xxiii The presence of Islam and American civil religion are just two examples of how our awareness of religion in America has changed since 9/11. But so much as hap- pened as well, and the increasing attention to the role and power of religion in our social and cultural lives, as well as to the incredible diversity of religious expres- sion, has led us to revise and expand our original work. The rise of the “nones”— those Americans who claim no religious affiliation—is dramatically changing the religious landscape the reach and influence of the Internet, online activities, and social media are redefining religious faith and practice media outlets and pop- ular culture more generally are shaping social values and sacred commitments throughout the country, if not around the world new institutional structures like megachurches are capitalizing on new and emerging interests in personal spiritual and community worship. Religion is vital but continues to be in flux in contempo- rary society, and certainly one set of volumes cannot capture all the nuances and variations in American religious life and history. This Revised and Second Edition This four-volume reference work, Religion and American Cultures: Tradition, Diver- sity, and Popular Expression, Second Edition, with its 192 essays and 81 primary documents, offers one possible set of categories, questions, and meanings with which to map the religious terrain of American life. These collected essays do not represent a definitive cartography, nor do they represent a singular perspective. Our editorial strategy was simply to ask people whom we had identified as experts to write on a particular theme, and to work with them on their topics. Our goal was to invite interesting people who could speak about the issues in a fresh and meaningful way. Each entry concludes with carefully collected further reading ref- erences for the reader, from books, journal articles, and online resources. This new edition does not cover everything under the sun, but it does dig deep into the rich religious soil of American culture and history, and offers unique, di- verse perspectives on the realities of religion, yesterday and today, in American society. The arrangement of the volumes remains the same as in the first edition, with the addition of the new essays in volume three. Many authors from the first two volumes have updated their entries and bibliographies since the first edition, and we have also expanded our volume of primary documents. Volume 1 In the first volume, as in the first edition, we’ve grouped essays under large head- ings that encompass ethnicity, institutions, and other forms of community. Essays on African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinas/Latinos stand together with Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and new religious traditions as primary areas of affilia- tion. Shorter essays collected under the larger categories explore more specialized, relevant topics and religious identities in greater detail. Throughout we have recognized the imperfections inherent in this task es- says in both volumes could have been ordered in a multiplicity of arrangements. The final design reflects our desire to group North Americans as they identify