The Devil Is a Gentleman: Exploring America's Religious Fringe

by J.C. Hallman

A hundred years ago, the writer and philosopher William James wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience, a seminal work that has inspired generations of scholars and eccentrics alike. James’s book argues that the religious spirit in man is best understood through the study of its most extreme forms. Varieties was a watershed a bestselling portrait of history’s pluralism and a defense of the spiritual quest, in all its guises, against the era’s increasingly secular sentiments.Today, with all the old tensions between skeptics and believers still in place, J. C. Hallman pays homage to James’s exploration of offbeat religious movements. But where James relied on the testimony and biographies of prophets and mystics, Hallman travels directly to some of America’s newest and most unusual religions, trekking from Druid circles in the mossy hills of northern California to the gleaming mother church of Scientology, from lurid satanic cellars in undisclosed locations to a professional-wrestling ministry in the fundamentalist heart of Texas. Along the way, he participates in a variety of rites and reports on a broad spectrum of beliefs. Eventually Hallman adopts James as his patron saint, spiritual adviser, and intellectual companion on the journey that will culminate in the creation of this book, a compelling combination of adventure and biography, spotted with hair-raising predicaments and rife with poignant portraits of unforgettable characters, including William James himself.The Devil Is a Gentleman maps the spiritual contours of modern American pluralism and examines the life and legacy of one of its most profound architects.From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, History, Christianity, Philosophy

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2006

About the author

I'm the author of seven books, most recently SAY ANARCHA: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health.

I enjoy talking to readers, for book clubs and 1:1s. Find me at https://www.skolay.com/writers/jc-hal...

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

While Hallman by and large maintains the proper personal balance of rational skepticism and scientific inquisitiveness, his presumption of religion's exoticism is annoying. He seems to think that his lack of any religion necessarily endows him with perfect impartiality, and seems to constantly present his case studies as oddities rather than ideas to be reckoned with. The practicioners of the various religions are presented as human beings, but with a slightly voyeuristic leer. This is smug and detrimental to the presumed purpose of his book, which is likewise bogged down with intermittent references to the philosopher William James that never quite appear all that necessary. (And atheism somehow finds its way onto "the fringe", which baffled me since it is not a religious movement, and hardly on the fringe).

The subject is a vital one, capable of generating some substantive and interesting debate, but this book does not present that debate. What it presents is one observer's attempts to understand some of America's lesser-known belief systems (with the noted exception), and his general failure to contribute anything of importance to the topic.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book! Deals with William James, and his impact/viewpoints on varied religious experiences, anything from Satanic worship (which isn't maybe as goat-fatal as you might think) to more wacky cult-type stuff. It's extremely readable, and very useful in sorting out what in the world passes for the more esoteric of religion today.

[Titus Hjelm]

A strange combination of William James biography, journalistic exposition of new religions, and soul searching. The author is a writer first and everything else second. And it shows. The book is entertaining and an easy read, but I wouldn't recommend it for people trying to get a serious sense of either James or new religious movements.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

JC Hallman travels across America, investigating religions on the "fringe." He attends an atheist convention, a Wiccan convention, travels with an evangelical Christian Pro wrestling industry, interviews Satanists and Druids, and attends a Scientology workshop undercover. The really weird thing is, I found the Satanists much more likable than the atheists – he really painted the atheists in a bad light, when he went to their convention, where as the Satanists seemed actually kind of like nice people to me. I knew that Satanists didn't really believe in Satan, the biblical Satan, and that Satanism itself is kind of a farce – a way of mocking traditional religious beliefs and turning them on their head. While I have no interest in becoming a Satanist, I actually found these people to be a lot more fun seeming than atheists, who the author characterizes as bitter and angry for the most part. The first-hand account of the black house and the Satanic mass were very interesting, and the history of Anton LeVay, though I wish it had gone more into detail of his life, was also interesting. I also enjoyed the part about the UFO cults - I didn't know anything about these groups before reading the book, apparently a very these groups in California (and I'm sure there are others around the world) that believe that "space brothers" are coming to earth to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. Yes, these people actually exist – I found myself shaking my head in wonder at many points of this book, and at the interviews of the UFO cult in particular. And of course the Pro wrestling ministry was a trip.

The problem with this book is that a large bulk of the book makes up the author's reactions to everything he experiences very much filtered through the viewpoint of his studies about an obscure writer named William James who wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience. Maybe he is not so obscure – but I never heard of him. At first I was interested in the history of William James and his experiments and lectures, but it quickly grew boring. The author interjects so much material of his own observations and ponderings into the book that it just became a real chore to slog through after a while. I wasn't really interested in his long philosophical speeches. The chapter about the monks that bred the dogs seemed completely out of place and pointless, and not interesting at all. That was a chore to get through. At other times, I really fell myself slogging through a lot of the biographical information about James, it just wasn't interesting. There were some really good nuggets in this book, some really good passages and really interesting things, but the bulk of it was just too tedious. I wasn't really interested in the author's philosophical ponderings or every single detail of everything that happened in William James's life from the time he was born.

[Markii · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool journey of a man investigating many different faiths- including satanism. finds out people are just people.

[Anika]

As an intellectual exercise, this book holds its own.

[Chris Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting. Particularly interesting section on the Church of Satan. I loved how Hallman continued to go back to William James's ideas

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read. Well thought out and an eye-opening tour of America's religious fringe.

[Tommy Carlson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished reading The Devil Is a Gentleman: Exploring America's Religious Fringe by J C Hallman. I didn't enjoy it a whole lot.

The jacket copy for this book is misleading. It's not really an exploration of America's religious fringe. It's a biography of William James. (Hallman basically admits this in the epilogue.) The chapters actually dealing with fringe religions are alternated with chapters that are pure biography. And the religion chapters themselves put a big focus on how James would have viewed each religion in question. So, basically, only about a third of the book is actually about the religions. And that leaves little space to really delve into them in detail.

So, as a biography of James, it gets high marks. But that's not what it's billed as. As an exploration of America's religious fringe, it's little better than looking each religion up in Wikipedia.

[Christopher Wilde · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I found enjoyable nuggets in this book and I did enjoy learning a bit more about William James I question the relevance of James and of exploring the non-dangerous religious fringe.

William James offered America's first psychology course, however he never quite seemed to appreciate the science. Perhaps that was because science was in it's infancy. Never-the-less I would find a book that tested James' ideas against modern science to be a more interesting read.

Mr. Hallman's obsession with James seems to be his own and I'm not sure why any publisher felt the rest of us would give a damn.

Read the (5) reviews on Amazon before you buy this book.

[Frank Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has two William James anchors: a chronology of his life and an analysis of his Varieties of Religious Experience. Weaved in with this are descriptions of the author's visits to several religious groups. It's quite a package. You get a description of several religious groups, and further understanding of James's philosophy and psychology. The search for meaning in life figures strongly in all of this. You won't be wasting your time if you read this.

[J.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I wish I had written myself.