Overview

For a denomination like Roman Catholicism that is canonically difficult to leave, many American Catholics are migrating beyond the institution's immediate influence. The new religious patterns associated with this experience represent a somewhat cohesive movement influencing not just Catholicism, but the whole of North American religion. Careful examination of the lives of disaffiliating young adults reveals that their religious lives are complicated. For example, the assumption that leaving conventional religious communities necessarily results in a non-religious identity is simplistic and even, perhaps, misleading. Many maintain a religious worldview and practice. This book explores one ""place"" where the religiously-affiliated and religiously-disaffiliating regularly meet--Catholic secondary schools--and something interesting is happening. Through a series of ethnographic portraits of Catholic religious educators and their disaffiliating former students, the book explores the experience of disaffiliation and makes its complexity more comprehensible in order to advance the discourse of fields interested in this significant movement in religious history and practice.

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9781725255791

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Many teachers of religious traditions are caught between wanting to retain young adults as active members, and encouraging them to decide for themselves, even if that means distancing from an inherited religious heritage. James Nagle's fresh and inventive approach to religious education shows what it's like to commit to working from the inside of young adults' accounts of their waymaking, and makes an important case for the power of teacher-student interactions as younger generations manage religious identities in a world where old assumptions about religious affiliation no longer hold. This book asks religious educators to check assumptions about affiliation--and to be open to new ways of imagining belonging and not belonging. --Tom Beaudoin, Fordham University Millions of young people in our day search for meaning and discern their relationship with God beyond traditional pathways proposed by religious traditions and churches. While many see themselves as disaffiliated, they long for the depths of mystery and seek to engage the larger faith tradition in fresher ways. Out on Waters is an invitation into humility and openness. Listen to the stories in this work; forsake unhelpful assumptions; allow yourself to be surprised. --Hosffman Ospino, Boston College Dr. Nagle explores how disaffiliated Catholics (Catholics who do not have strong ties to parishes) often attend intentionally to their own ongoing religious development. At a deeper level, he challenges us to consider how God may be at work in our contemporary, global world in new and surprising ways. The book is a valuable resource for religious educators and others who are interested in how faith continues to evolve today. --Harold D. Horell, Fordham University

""Many teachers of religious traditions are caught between wanting to retain young adults as active members, and encouraging them to decide for themselves, even if that means distancing from an inherited religious heritage. James Nagle's fresh and inventive approach to religious education shows what it's like to commit to working from the inside of young adults' accounts of their waymaking, and makes an important case for the power of teacher-student interactions as younger generations manage religious identities in a world where old assumptions about religious affiliation no longer hold. This book asks religious educators to check assumptions about affiliation--and to be open to new ways of imagining belonging and not belonging."" --Tom Beaudoin, Fordham University ""Millions of young people in our day search for meaning and discern their relationship with God beyond traditional pathways proposed by religious traditions and churches. While many see themselves as disaffiliated, they long for the depths of mystery and seek to engage the larger faith tradition in fresher ways. Out on Waters is an invitation into humility and openness. Listen to the stories in this work; forsake unhelpful assumptions; allow yourself to be surprised."" --Hosffman Ospino, Boston College ""Dr. Nagle explores how disaffiliated Catholics (Catholics who do not have strong ties to parishes) often attend intentionally to their own ongoing religious development. At a deeper level, he challenges us to consider how God may be at work in our contemporary, global world in new and surprising ways. The book is a valuable resource for religious educators and others who are interested in how faith continues to evolve today."" --Harold D. Horell, Fordham University

"""""Many teachers of religious traditions are caught between wanting to retain young adults as active members, and encouraging them to decide for themselves, even if that means distancing from an inherited religious heritage. James Nagle's fresh and inventive approach to religious education shows what it's like to commit to working from the inside of young adults' accounts of their waymaking, and makes an important case for the power of teacher-student interactions as younger generations manage religious identities in a world where old assumptions about religious affiliation no longer hold. This book asks religious educators to check assumptions about affiliation--and to be open to new ways of imagining belonging and not belonging."""" --Tom Beaudoin, Fordham University """"Millions of young people in our day search for meaning and discern their relationship with God beyond traditional pathways proposed by religious traditions and churches. While many see themselves as disaffiliated, they long for the depths of mystery and seek to engage the larger faith tradition in fresher ways. Out on Waters is an invitation into humility and openness. Listen to the stories in this work; forsake unhelpful assumptions; allow yourself to be surprised."""" --Hosffman Ospino, Boston College """"Dr. Nagle explores how disaffiliated Catholics (Catholics who do not have strong ties to parishes) often attend intentionally to their own ongoing religious development. At a deeper level, he challenges us to consider how God may be at work in our contemporary, global world in new and surprising ways. The book is a valuable resource for religious educators and others who are interested in how faith continues to evolve today."""" --Harold D. Horell, Fordham University"

Many teachers of religious traditions are caught between wanting to retain young adults as active members, and encouraging them to decide for themselves, even if that means distancing from an inherited religious heritage. James Nagle's fresh and inventive approach to religious education shows what it's like to commit to working from the inside of young adults' accounts of their waymaking, and makes an important case for the power of teacher-student interactions as younger generations manage religious identities in a world where old assumptions about religious affiliation no longer hold. This book asks religious educators to check assumptions about affiliation--and to be open to new ways of imagining belonging and not belonging. --Tom Beaudoin, Fordham University Millions of young people in our day search for meaning and discern their relationship with God beyond traditional pathways proposed by religious traditions and churches. While many see themselves as disaffiliated, they long for the depths of mystery and seek to engage the larger faith tradition in fresher ways. Out on Waters is an invitation into humility and openness. Listen to the stories in this work; forsake unhelpful assumptions; allow yourself to be surprised. --Hosffman Ospino, Boston College Dr. Nagle explores how disaffiliated Catholics (Catholics who do not have strong ties to parishes) often attend intentionally to their own ongoing religious development. At a deeper level, he challenges us to consider how God may be at work in our contemporary, global world in new and surprising ways. The book is a valuable resource for religious educators and others who are interested in how faith continues to evolve today. --Harold D. Horell, Fordham University

Author Information

James Michael Nagle teaches theology at Xavier High School in New York City. He studies contemporary movements of religion and spirituality, and their implications for wider culture. James also works with church and other non-profit groups to develop content and curriculum for young adult audiences.

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