American Mythos: Why Our Best Efforts to Be a Better Nation Fall Short PDF
Preview American Mythos: Why Our Best Efforts to Be a Better Nation Fall Short
A m e r i c a n M y t h o s 6 This page intentionally left blank Robert Wuthnow A m e r i c a n M y t h o s 6 WhyOurBestEffortstoBea BetterNationFallShort Princeton University Press Princeton and Oxford Copyright©2006byPrincetonUniversityPress PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet, Princeton,NewJersey08540 IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress, 6OxfordStreet,Woodstock,OxfordshireOX201TW AllRightsReserved Thirdprinting,andfirstpaperbackprinting,2008 PaperbackISBN:978-0-691-13855-8 TheLibraryofCongresshascatalogedtheclotheditionofthisbookasfollows Wuthnow,Robert. Americanmythos:whyourbesteffortstobeabetter nationfallshort/RobertWuthnow. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN-13:978-0-691-12504-6(hardcover:alk.paper) ISBN-10:0-691-12504-X(hardcover:alk.paper) 1.Socialvalues—UnitedStates.2.Socialethics—UnitedStates. 3.UnitedStates—Moralconditions.4.Immigrants—UnitedStates.I.Title. HN90.M6W8672006 303.3′72′0973—dc22 2005018789 BritishLibraryCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailable ThisbookhasbeencomposedinAldusandCopperplateGothic Printedonacid-freepaper.∞ press.princeton.edu PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 CHAPTER1 DeepCultureandDemocraticRenewal 12 CHAPTER2 QuandariesofIndividualism 38 CHAPTER3 TheJusticeofPrivilege 79 CHAPTER4 Self-MadeMenandWomen 104 CHAPTER5 InAmerica,AllReligionsAreTrue 128 CHAPTER6 EthnicTiesThatBind(Loosely) 163 CHAPTER7 SavingOurselvesfromMaterialism 192 CHAPTER8 VenuesforReflectiveDemocracy 218 Appendix 235 Notes 239 SelectedBibliography 263 Index 277 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments M uch of this book was written during a sabbatical year provided by Princeton University and a fellowship from the John Simon GuggenheimMemorialFoundation.Iamgratefultotheuniversityand the foundation for their support. My editor at Princeton University Press,TimSullivan,wasajoytoworkwithandprovidedvaluableedito- rial advice. The two anonymous readers he secured were enormously helpful, both with specific suggestions and in giving me the confidence that I had something important to say. Parts of the book were initially presentedattheMontreatConferenceCenterinNorthCarolinaandas my presidential address to the Eastern Sociological Society. Both audi- ences offered comments that have helped me to clarify my arguments. NatalieSearlandKarenMyersplayedaveryimportantroleinconduct- ing interviews for the New Elites Project, transcribing the interviews, and organizing the information from the transcripts. I want especially tothankthemenandwomenwhomadetimeintheirbusyschedulesto be interviewed. Indirectly, this book reflects the fact that I work in a department that includes leading scholars of immigration, especially AlejandroPortes,PatriciaFernandez-Kelly,MartaTienda,DougMassey, andTomEspenshade.Theirpresencecontributedtomyinterestinlearn- ing more about the place of immigrant narratives in American culture. Thisinterestwasalsoreinforcedbymyworkingwithanumberofgrad- uatestudents whoseprojectshave focusedontheintersection ofimmi- grationandreligion.ConversationswithWendyCadge,ElaineEcklund, andMargaritaMooneywereespeciallyhelpful.Whilewritingthisbook, Iconvenedagroupofgraduatestudentswhohelpedmesurveytheliter- atureonimmigrantsuccess.ThisgroupincludedCristinaMora-Torres, JimGibbon,andSaraNephew.Aftercompletingafirstdraftofthebook, Ibenefitedfromteachingagraduateseminaroncivilsocietyandanother seminar on sociology of religion. In both, we read and discussed many oftheimportantworksthathavebeeninfluentialinmythinkingabout viii acknowledgments theissuesconsideredhere.Manyoftheseareidentifiedinbibliographic notes, but these references cannot begin to indicate the deep personal andintellectualdebtsIowe.Inthisregard,IwanttothankRichardAlba, Jeffrey Alexander, Peter Berger, Randall Collins, Paul DiMaggio, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Amitai Etzioni, Charles Glock, Wendy Griswold, Na- thanHatch,JamesDavisonHunter,GeorgeKateb,MicheleLamont,Wil- fred McClay, Mark Noll, Robert Putnam, Michael Schudson, Neil Smelser,PaulStarr,JeffreyStout,AnnSwidler,AlanWolfe,andViviana Zelizer.Finally,IespeciallywanttothankRobertBellah,whoseteaching wasformativemanyyearsagowhenIwasagraduatestudent,andwhose ideasandwritinghavecontinuedtobeawellspringofinspiration. A m e r i c a n M y t h o s 6
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