Overview

This bold, pioneering book explores rites of passage in America by sifting through the accounts of influential thinkers who experienced them. Arthur J. Magida explains the underlying theologies, evolution, and actual practice of Jewish bar and bat mitzvahs, Christian confirmations, Hindu sacred thread ceremonies, Muslim shahadas and Zen jukai ceremonies. In rare interviews, renowned artists and intellectuals such as Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, holistic guru Deepak Chopra, singer Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), actress/comedienne Julia Sweeney, cartoonist Roz Chast, interfaith maven Huston Smith, and many more talk intimately about their religious backgrounds, the rites of passage they went through, and how these events shaped who they are today. Magida compares these coming of age ceremonies' origins and evolution, considers their ultimate meaning and purpose, and gauges how their meaning changes with individuals over time. He also examines innovative rites of passage that are now being ""invented"" in the United States. Passionate and lyrical, this absorbing book reveals our deep, ultimate need for coming-of-age events, especially in a society as fluid as ours. Conversations with: Bob Abernethy, Huston Smith, Julia Sweeney, Roz Chast, Harold Kushner, Ram Dass, Elie Wiesel, Deepak Chopra, Robert Thurman, Coleman Barks, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), And others

Full Product Details

Author:   Arthur J. Magida
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.363kg
ISBN:  

9780520256255

ISBN 10:   0520256255
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   16 April 2008
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

Prologue Introduction: Sometimes, the Magic Works PART ONE CHRISTIANITY: SOLDIERS FOR CHRIST 1. The Descent of the Spirit 2. Bob Abernethy: No Fundamental, Life-Changing Experience 3. Chinua Achebe: What Makes Someone Give Up Their Religion? 4. Huston Smith: Religion Saturated the House 5. Julia Sweeney: That Soldier-of-Christ, Slap-across-the-Face Stuff Is Sick 6. Jim Zogby: The Walmart-ization of the Church PART TWO JUDAISM: WOULD ANNE FRANK SING KARAOKE? 7. What, Really, Is a Man? 8. Leon Botstein: I'm Tone Deaf to Belief 9. Roz Chast: I Was Like a Spy. Like a Closet Jew 10. Rabbi Harold Kushner: I Wanted To Make My Parents Proud 11. Letty and Abigail Pogrebin, Mother and Daughter: You Are a Woman Meant You Do the Dishes 12. Ram Dass: Mushrooms Gave Me What I Could Have Had at My Bar Mitzvah 13. Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin: Israel and I Came of Age Together 14. Elie Wiesel: I Am Not God's Policeman PART THREE HINDUISM: COMING TO BRAHMAN, KNOWING NIRVANA 15. The Thread of Life 16. Deepak and Gotham Chopra, Father and Son: Religion Is Frequently Idiotic PART FOUR BUDDHISM: ORIGINAL PERFECTION VERSUS ORIGINAL SIN 17. Waking Up 18. Roshi John Daido Loori: Born a Buddha. Die a Buddha 19. Robert Thurman: I Looked Like Henry Miller in Drag PART FIVE ISLAM: SEVEN ESSENTIAL WORDS 20. Allah Is One 21. Coleman Barks: Just Being Sentient Is Cause for Rapture 22. Dr. Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens): Floating on a Cloud of Mercy 23. Michael Wolfe: I Feel Like a Monotheist with Extra Credentials Epilogue: Would Anyone Riding by on a Horse Even Notice? Notes Acknowledgments

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Author Information

Arthur J. Magida is Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and author of The Rabbi and the Hit Man, Prophet of Rage, and How to Be a Perfect Stranger.

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