Catholics in the Movies
"Colleen McDannell has brought together an all-star cast of scholars to examine what happened when American Catholics went to the movies, what happened to them and to the movies. Movie screens were an extension of the streets and shrines of the American church, where Catholics struggling with the hard realities of American life encountered their deepest fears and wildest dreams. This fabulous book makes it clear that going to the movies was as formative of American Catholicism as going to church." --Robert Orsi, author ofThe Madonna of 115th StreetandThank You, Saint Jude"Although the title of this collection is Catholics in the Movies, it is in fact about so much more than Catholics and movies, encompassing a range of subjects that bear on religious life in US history including race and gender, immigration and sexuality, fear and power.  McDannell and the other writers bring Catholic history to light, but they also illuminate a much wider cultural field with compelling, insightful results." --Gary Laderman, Chair and Professor, Department of Religion, Emory University