Saving the Heartland
Subtitle: Catholic Missionaries in Rural America, 1920-1960
Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
Published: March 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 233
ISBN-13: 9780875802916
Subjects: Christian mission & evangelism; Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church; Rural communities; Social history; 20th century; Missions; Christianity - History - Catholic; Religion - Catholicism; United States; Religion; North Central & Mid-West states; USA; Missions & Missionary Work; Christian Ministry - Missions; Christianity - Church Administration - General; Christian Church - Church Administration; Catholic Church; Church history; History
Description: Exploring the Catholic agrarian agenda and the theological vision that motivated it, the author interprets the influence of prominent twentieth-century Catholics such as radio priest Charles Coughlin, converts Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, European Catholic apologists G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, and Popes Pius X, XI and XII. Also brings to light for the first time the work of religious leagues, street preachers and the priests and nuns who roamed the countryside to spread religious and rural reform through loudspeakers and tent meetings. Striving to make their beliefs applicable in the familiar realms of work and family, Catholic agrarians played a pivotal role in the development of the American Midwest and the twentieth-century Catholic Church. This first comprehensive picture of the Catholic missionary experience in rural America reveals a new dimension of American religious history.