Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity

California Studies in Food and Culture #12

by R. Marie Griffith

"Fat People Don't Go to Heaven!" screamed a headline in the tabloid Globe in November 2000. The story recounted the success of the Weigh Down Workshop, the nation's largest Christian diet corporation and the subject of extensive press coverage from Larry King Live to the New Yorker. In the United States today, hundreds of thousands of people are making diet a religious duty by enrolling in Christian diet programs and reading Christian diet literature like What Would Jesus Eat? and Fit for God. Written with style and wit, far ranging in its implications, and rich with the stories of real people, Born Again Bodies launches a provocative yet sensitive investigation into Christian fitness and diet culture. Looking closely at both the religious roots of this movement and its present-day incarnations, R. Marie Griffith vividly analyzes Christianity's intricate role in America's obsession with the body, diet, and fitness.

As she traces the underpinning of modern-day beauty and slimness ideals―as well as the bigotry against people who are overweight―Griffith links seemingly disparate groups in American history including seventeenth-century New England Puritans, Progressive Era New Thought adherents, and late-twentieth-century evangelical diet preachers.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Gender Studies, Food, Fat Studies

323 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Marie Griffith is the Director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, where she also serves as the John C. Danfoth Professor of Humanities. She has written extensively about religion in U.S. history and in the present. She focuses particularly on issues of gender and sexuality, matters that have grown ever more divisive in American society and politics in recent years. She has taught at Northwestern, Princeton, and Harvard, Universities and has published in both scholarly and popular venues. She is committed to civil discourse across political and religious lines, and she intends her writing to be accessible to a wide array of readers (not simply scholars). Her latest book, *Moral Combat*, explores debates over sex in American Christianity over the past century and their profound impact on U.S. law and politics.

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly readable (given that it's an academic text) and altogether fascinating look at the relationship between white, American Protestantism and the overall American diet industrial complex. This was an interesting lens through which to view the whole history of Protestantism in America, and the exploration of the fundamental dualism baked into the American world view was really interesting. I will say I found this "triggering" for my ED, particularly because so much of my own baggage is tied up in my fundamentalist upbringing, so I had to find the right moments to read this, and I would advise anyone similarly situated to take care when picking this up. But overall, a really worthwhile niche history

[Dasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women's religious landscape is intimately shaped by their bodies, but men took play a critical role in establishing this relationship through their religious authority and also defining men's bodily relationship to religion. This book provides insight into how white American Protestantism entrenched gendered and racialized body norms in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Griffith provides a wonderful array of photos to support her analysis and the, occasionally, tongue-in-cheek quips makes this book a quick and worthwhile read.

[Niamh Colbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent study of the complex interaction between Christianity and secular culture, providing a much-needed nuance to overly simplistic accounts of the ‘secularised’ salvation myth ingrained in western thinness culture. A challenging read that reminds us as a church of our ongoing complicity in racial and economic hierarchies and injustices, and our fear and oppression of otherness. This is a sharply (and needfully) critical, yet deeply empathetic and well written book, and I would highly recommend it.

[Susie Meister · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows the relationship American Christianity has with the flesh. Focusing on more popular elements (e.g. diet books) rather than theological aspects (e.g. fasting), this book argues that Christianity has a culture of perfectionism that manifests itself in pursuits of bodily idealism. This book will be useful in my dissertation discussions on the health and wealth gospel as its desire for healing and wellness is part of a long tradition of Christian interest in the physical body.

[Adrienne Bitar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and insightful study of the body in Christianity. The larger concept of the "body," which could seem abstract, is firmly grounded in actual Christian practices. I found her chapter on Christian weight loss, as told through devotional dieting, particularly smart and thorough.

[Kellie Finley-Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot. Griffith’s style is a little dense for my taste.

[Abby Johansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. To be completely honest, 1/3 of this book was pretty hollow & boring. But the other 2/3rds were really interesting and well-written!

[Amanda Opelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I needed for my research project - an insightful overview of the spiritual component of diet culture through the centuries.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an outstanding academic history of Christian thinking on the body from the birth of America to present. It follows the major currents of thinking in Anglo-American Protestant theology, though it veers into doctrinally unorthodox areas that are nonetheless important because of their overall influence on the wider culture. For me, the highlights were the sections on fasting and New Thought, which strikes me as an obvious predecessor to Scientology. The section on contemporary devotional dieting was morbidly fascinating, and proved helpful for me in a cultural critique portion of my Master's thesis. Recommended for theology geeks who can handle academic language.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

We had to read and write a paper on this one for my Christianity class. The whole class complained- not many people got the point of the book I don't think-, It may have been hard to follow for some, but I found it to be very interesing. Could it be that in some Christian traditions the "fat body" is the physical manifestation or representation of sin? Yes, according to the author. It was an interesting topic and the author gave solid, extremely informative info. I love the info on "Weigh-Down Diets" and Father Divine.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do evangelical diets and New Thought air diets have in common? A lot, according to Griffith. Taking strands from unexpected places, she argues that diverse religious influences helped make the modern ideal of the body and continue to support racialized and gendered power hierarchies. Her extensive ethnographic research is supplemented by a great deal of primary source documents. Her writing style is clear, interesting, and supremely insightful.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at the close relationship between the secular weight loss industry and the American Protestant/Evangelist view of the body. Oodles of information here with some challenging conclusions. Rating: 4 stars.

[Leslie]

I adore this author's areas of interest (and this author). She focuses on gender and sexuality, body image, religion, and how they all overlap. And I'm real hype on her future project(s) as well...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most entertaining academic books I have ever read.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: If you have an eating disorder, this book may trigger. However, it's worth the read.

[Danielle Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, review forthcoming.