Serving the Word: Literalism in America from the Pulpit to the Bench

by Vincent Crapanzano

Brilliantly observed and persuasively argued, Serving the Word , now in paperback, is an unprecedented look at the prevalence of literalism and the unexpected forms it takes in modern America's religious and secular life. Hailed as "thoughtful [and] suggestive" ( The New York Review of Books ), Serving the Word treats literalism as a modern belief system, analyzing its place in two seemingly contrasting Christianity and the law. Moving from wealthy Angelenos who embrace starkly literal readings of the Bible to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's insisting on the narrowest interpretation of legal texts, leading anthropologist Vincent Crapanzano makes a persuasive claim that the attraction to literal certainty that we associate with fringe fanaticism is in fact deeply embedded in American culture. This "disturbing but important" book ( The Washington Post Book World ) examines our society's very conception of the truth, and poses basic questions about the state of America's mind and soul.

Genres: Sociology

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Vincent Crapanzano (Dist Prof, Anthropology and Comparative Literature, City University of New York) graduated from the Ecole Internationale in Geneva, received his B.A. in philosophy from Harvard, and his PhD in anthropology from Columbia University. He has taught at Princeton, Harvard, the University of Chicago, the University of Paris, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, the University of Brasilia, and the University of Cape Town. He has lectured in major universities in North and South America, Europe, Hong Kong, and South Africa.

Reviews

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enlightening. Not what I expected. But helpful for paper I’m writing

[whimsicalmeerkat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book takes two aspects of our culture that, although initially separate, are becoming more intertwined and shows how literalism flows throughout both. Overall, a very good book with a lot of examples and interviews. At points the author fails to make it very clear that he disagrees with the people he interviewed, but that seems to be because of a tendency to ramble. I recommend this for anyone who grew up around either legal or religious fundamentalists.

[Elizabeth Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book includes one of the best descriptions of the historical rise of fundamentalism in US Christianity that I've read. The section on the historical rise of conservative constitutional interpretation is drier.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A literary anthropologist's take on literalism in fundamental Christianity and in the law. I especially liked the final chapter, in which VC discusses the effects of literalism in American culture on a broader scale.