Pilgrims in Their Own Land: 500 Years of Religion in America

by Martin E. Marty

Pilgrims in Their Own Land is Martin E. Marty's vivid chronological account of the people and events that carved the spiritual landscape of America. It is in one sense a study of migration, with each wave of immigrants bringing a set of religious beliefs to a new world. The narrative unfolds through sharply detailed biographical vignettes—stories of religious "pathfinders," including William Penn, Mary Baker Eddy, Henry David Thoreau, and many other leaders of movements, both marginal and mainstream. In addition, Marty considers the impact of religion on social issues such as racism, feminism, and utopianism. And engrossing, highly readable, and comprehensive history, Pilgrims in Their Own Land is written with respect, appreciation, and insight into the multitude of religious groups that represent expressions of spirituality in America.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, American History, Theology, Christian

500 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Martin E. Marty was an American religious scholar and historian known for his extensive work on religion in the United States. A Lutheran pastor before transitioning into academia, he became a leading voice in religious studies, particularly in the areas of American Protestantism, fundamentalism, and public religion. He was a longtime professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he mentored numerous doctoral students and held the prestigious Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professorship.
Marty wrote or edited a book for nearly every year of his academic career, producing influential works such as Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America, which won the National Book Award, and the five-volume Fundamentalism Project, co-edited with R. Scott Appleby. He was a prolific columnist for The Christian Century and wrote extensively on religion's role in American public life.
A recipient of numerous honors, including the National Humanities Medal and over 80 honorary doctorates, Marty also served as president of several academic societies and participated in U.S. presidential commissions. The Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago was named in his honor.

Reviews

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

really solid single-volume history of religion in america. doesn't pretend to be all-inclusive and really doesn't speak to any non-judeochristian religions, although there is a pretty amusing short bit about anton lavey and the church of satanism at the end (one of the problems that the church of satanism encountered is that the idea of traditional worship is kind of ... tame if you really purport to worship a dark eminence. hindsight is like 20/15 sometimes). this gets a little drowsy in places; there's really no way to make ideological squabbles among different flavors of protestantism super interesting, as intensely felt as they may have been at the time. at its best contextualizing fringe experiences into the wider narrative.

favorite pieces:
-George Beard's theory of climate-driven anxiety (that there is a nervous belt, which North America is in, where it is neither too cold or too hot to shiver/sweat out the vibes that make us neurotic, basically)
-Warren G. Harding provided a blurb for a crazy racist/eugenics book by Dr. Stoddard ("Rising Tide of Color")
-"Peter Cartwright — a tireless circuit rider who in 1832 was to spread the word that his opponent in an Illinois legislative race, Abraham Lincoln, was an infidel — on occasion physically wrestled infidels and Baptists"
-"corsarios luteranos" -- Lutheran Pirates, Huguenots who raided Spanish colonial Florida
-Verrazano watched natives eat his brother
-"during the annual Pope Day at Newport and Boston, crowds burned the pope in effigy. In Boston, North End and South End ruffians took the day off and spent it trying to capture a papal effigy from each other.; a brawl and a jovial supper always followed. But in 1774, because Boston was too explosive to allow for factionalism, sober people devised a "Union Pope." For one day, at least, the two rival neighborhoods united against a Parliament they somehow linked with Catholicism."
-John Adams was terrified of Catholics, and his cousin Samuel even more so, to the point of like modern right wing paranoia that Catholics were hiding everywhere

what's not here:
Really anything at all about smaller religious minorities, which makes sense because of scope of the book, but it still kind of disappointing. Marty is quite good on native American religion, which made me wish there was more of that, and more on western/northwestern tribes. The set piece on Wounded Knee is well-done.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent book that covers the development and progress of religion in the United States. I highly recommend this for those interested in the topic but two things stand out in my memory about the book. The first, Marty's thesis that Abraham Lincoln, a member of no denomination, stands as the central contemporary figure in American religious life. The second was Marty's struggle to describe Mormonism respectfully as a good ecumenicist should while pointing out suspicious elements in Joseph Smith's story.

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wordy, long-winded, bad grammar, and jumpy to boot.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written.....lots of facts on how American religions, as varied as they are/were, were established. NOT a lite read! Would recommend to someone who likes history and how it all is put together in America.

[Logophile (Heather) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is a great treatment of its topic, it is not been the most riveting book on my nightstand so it's taken me rather a long while to read it (5 months or so). If you happen to be the sort of person who reads books about the history of religion of your own volition (you weirdo)- you will probably enjoy this. This book covers 500 years in about 500 pages so don't expect minute detail. As the best historians do, Marty humanizes the narrative frequently, allowing personal stories of individuals to illustrate the realities of religious life for various people in different time periods in a variety of places.
How churches and key leaders handled key social topics of their time periods is briefly discussed, from Manifest Destiny and culture clashes with Native American peoples, slavery, racism and civil rights, unions and social justice, eugenics, feminism, etc.

Marty is engaging, with dry, understated humor throughout.

[Richard White · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, this is one of the better history records of religion in America. It gives an overview through the development of the country with different perspectives from the various churches and their influences at specific times. Reads a little slow because you want to catch the detailed interaction that is being explained. So far, so good!

[Peter Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a good survey of religious movements in the 13 colonies that would become the United States. It would be nice to see more details about the land that would become the states of Hawaii and Alaska.

[John]

nonfiction,theology,history

[Elizabeth]

The author is a professor at the University of Chicago, who gave the Harper Lecture for the University of Chicago Alumni Association in Baltimore on immigrants, strangers, aliens, and hospitality.

[Adam Gossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent research for the period! Very accessible!

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid work with nice prose.