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American Catholic Experience: A History from Colonial Times to the Present
Spanning nearly 500 years, The American Catholic Experience describes the Catholic experience from the arrival of Columbus and the other European explorers to the present day. Jay P. Dolan discusses Catholicism as it spread across the New World, transforming―and being transformed by―the land and its people. The book traces the evolution of the urban ethnic communities by examining the vital contributions of the immigrant church to Catholicism. Finally, Dolan examines the controversy of the modern church and the extraordinary changes in the Catholic consciousness as it comes to grips with such contemporary social and theological issues as war and peace, the arms race, abortion, social justice, the ordination of women, and a married clergy.
504 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 7, 2014
Impressive in scope, Dolan's book covers a wealth of material. Oftentimes, the author seems to prescribe rather than describe. His thesis of an American Catholic Church returning to a maybe-non-existent republican interlude of Church history fails in multiple ways. His discussion of immigrants, though, is particularly strong and he does provide interesting and good information. While I stand very much apart from the author in conclusions, I do commend him for his work.
March 23, 2018
Reads like a collection of college essays- repeats itself A LOT. Obviously leans and has a very dated view of JPII in the last two pages, but it's interesting to see a contemporary look at Vatican II.
July 30, 2024
AN EXCELLENT HISTORY OF AMERICAN CATHOLICISM
Jay P. Dolan is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame, where he taught for thirty-three years; he has also written 'In Search of an American Catholicism: A History of Religion and Culture in Tension,' 'Catholic Revivalism: The American Experience 1830-1900,' 'Mexican Americans and the Catholic Church, 1900-1965,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1992 book, "my main concern in this book was to focus... on the people and not just the prelates, on the experience of religion and not just the development of the institution. I wanted to look... from the bottom up... and write what I believe is a new history of Roman Catholicism in the United States. In writing this history I have sought to ask new questions of the past and to focus on themes often neglected in American Catholic history."
He notes, "Catholicism did not just survive in eighteenth-century Maryland, it prospered. For Maryland Quakers, the Protestant revolution of 1688-89 and the subsequent legal establishment of the Church of England proved to be a fatal blow to their future as a vibrant religious community. Catholics, however, adjusted more successfully to the religious and political revolts that turned Maryland into an Anglican citadel." (Pg. 90)
He observes, "Most historical images of the American Catholic people have focused on the stereotype of a poor, lower-class, immigrant community. By 1900 this was hardly the case. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the American Catholic community had a large middle class made up of American-born sons and daughters of Irish and German immigrants... Beneath this group were blue-collar working-class Catholics, people employed in skilled occupations, many of whom owned their own homes." (Pg. 147)
He states, "Over the course of the nineteenth century, the concept of a separate, parochial school system had been around for some time, but it was not until the 1840s ... that a school was viewed as normative for the parish community... By the 1884 Council, the parochial school had become the norm as far as the majority of bishops were concerned. But that is the key point: the MAJORITY favored it, not everyone." (Pg. 275)
He argues, "The ax fell in 1907, when the Pope issued his encyclical against modernism... In one fatal blow the Pope destroyed the buddnig renewal of Catholic theology... the Pope imposed an oath against modernism that all priests and candidates for the priesthood had to take. These actions ended the modernist crisis and cast a gloomy pall over Catholic intellectual life throughout the world. With some few, notable exceptions, Catholics accepted the decision of Pius X. But the church paid a heavy price." (Pg. 318-319)
This is an up-to-date, intellectually respectable, and highly informative history, that will be of great interest to anyone studying Catholic (or even American) history.
Jay P. Dolan is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame, where he taught for thirty-three years; he has also written 'In Search of an American Catholicism: A History of Religion and Culture in Tension,' 'Catholic Revivalism: The American Experience 1830-1900,' 'Mexican Americans and the Catholic Church, 1900-1965,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1992 book, "my main concern in this book was to focus... on the people and not just the prelates, on the experience of religion and not just the development of the institution. I wanted to look... from the bottom up... and write what I believe is a new history of Roman Catholicism in the United States. In writing this history I have sought to ask new questions of the past and to focus on themes often neglected in American Catholic history."
He notes, "Catholicism did not just survive in eighteenth-century Maryland, it prospered. For Maryland Quakers, the Protestant revolution of 1688-89 and the subsequent legal establishment of the Church of England proved to be a fatal blow to their future as a vibrant religious community. Catholics, however, adjusted more successfully to the religious and political revolts that turned Maryland into an Anglican citadel." (Pg. 90)
He observes, "Most historical images of the American Catholic people have focused on the stereotype of a poor, lower-class, immigrant community. By 1900 this was hardly the case. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the American Catholic community had a large middle class made up of American-born sons and daughters of Irish and German immigrants... Beneath this group were blue-collar working-class Catholics, people employed in skilled occupations, many of whom owned their own homes." (Pg. 147)
He states, "Over the course of the nineteenth century, the concept of a separate, parochial school system had been around for some time, but it was not until the 1840s ... that a school was viewed as normative for the parish community... By the 1884 Council, the parochial school had become the norm as far as the majority of bishops were concerned. But that is the key point: the MAJORITY favored it, not everyone." (Pg. 275)
He argues, "The ax fell in 1907, when the Pope issued his encyclical against modernism... In one fatal blow the Pope destroyed the buddnig renewal of Catholic theology... the Pope imposed an oath against modernism that all priests and candidates for the priesthood had to take. These actions ended the modernist crisis and cast a gloomy pall over Catholic intellectual life throughout the world. With some few, notable exceptions, Catholics accepted the decision of Pius X. But the church paid a heavy price." (Pg. 318-319)
This is an up-to-date, intellectually respectable, and highly informative history, that will be of great interest to anyone studying Catholic (or even American) history.
August 2, 2011
Dolan wrote his history by topic rather than strict chronology. As a result, time jumps around quite a bit and certain people or events are treated multiple times under different sections. He also manages to write about the American Experience with hardly more than a word about the Civil War, World Wars, Vietnam War, Korean War, or any other conflict besides the Revolution.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews