In distinctive voice and tone, cultural commentator Glenn W. Olsen presents his latest work on the place of Catholicism in American history. Here he clarifies the meaning of American modernity for Catholics and shows the conflicts and tensions confronting the religious person today. The essays take up such questions as the possibility of a neutral public order, the desirable relation between church and state, the spiritualities suitable to our historical situation, the form the principle of subsidiarity might take, and the range of hopeful possibilities for the future.

Olsen defines the current challenge for religious persons as how to be "in" but not "of" the world. Addressing some aspects of being in the world, he traces the historical roots of the idea of Catholic incarnational humanism and analyzes the problems specific to Christian faith existing within a larger society of nonbelievers. Olsen suggests that how we address such issues affects the religious and nonreligious alike, especially in a country of diverse religions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Glenn W. Olsen is professor emeritus of medieval history at the University of Utah, with a Ph.D. in the history of the Middle Ages. He is a frequent contributor to journals such as Communio, Logos, and Faith and Reason, and is the author of The Turn to Transcendence: The Role of Religion in the Twenty-First Century (CUA Press) and Christian Marriage: A Historical Study.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

"Glenn Olsen writes as a kind of cultural pessimist while still trying to preserve the Christian virtue of hope. His radical perspective is powerful and refreshing, and it is definitely worth a fair hearing--Olsen is today's Christopher Dawson."--Robert Kraynak, professor of political science, Colgate University

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