Formed from This Soil offers a complete history of religion in America that centers on the diversity of sacred traditions and practices that have existed in the country from its earliest days.* Organized chronologically starting with the earliest Europeans searching for new routes to Asia, through to the global context of post-9/11 America of the 21st century* Includes discussion of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic class, political affiliations, and other elements of individual and collective identity* Incorporates recent scholarship for a nuanced history that goes beyond simple explanations of America as a Protestant society* Discusses diverse beliefs and practices that originated in the Americas as well as those that came from Europe, Asia, and Africa* Pedagogical features include numerous visual images; sidebars with specialized topics and interpretive themes; discussion questions for each chapter; a glossary of common terms; and lists of relevant resources to broaden student learning

Acknowledgments xPrelude for Instructors: A Decentered Narrative of American Religious History xiiBeginnings: The Diversity of Religion in America 1Part I New Worlds 111 Encounters 13African Encounters 20European Conquests in America 27Native Encounters 39New Worlds of Contact 472 Reformations 52Religious Upheavals 56Colonizing America 69Reforming Native Religions of America and Africa 80New Worlds of Reformed Authorities 853 Conflicts and Persecutions 90Native Revolutions 92Improvements upon the Land 103Captivities 108The Diversity of Religious Conflicts 1174 Resistance, Revival, and Revolution 122Resisting Slavery 125Reviving Religious Fervor 129A New Nation 137The Limits of Liberty 145Part II The New Nation 1535 An Expanding Nation 155America in the Pacific World 160A New Awakening 169A Nation Enslaved 176Expansion 1846 The Many Religious Voices 189Women's Voices 193Displaced Voices 199Immigrant Voices 206Restorationist Voices 212The Diversity of Religious Voices in America 2237 One Nation 231Spiritual Purposes 235A Nation Divided 239The Nation at War 252Reconstructing the Nation 254Diverse Voices of the Unified Nation 2608 Changing Society 267New Lands 270New People 279New Religious Ways 294America's Double Consciousness 301Part III The Modern World 3099 Modern Worlds 311Science 313Religious Responses to Modern Sciences 318Migrations 329Global America 34210 Cold War and Civil Rights 349Religion of the Nation 352Clash of Classes 359Confronting Racial Apartheid 368Liberated People 37811 A Spiritual Nation 385Spiritual Immigrants 388Religious Bodies 398Spiritual Borderlands 405Religious America 41112 Crossing Borders 418Rethinking America and Religion 421Glossary 427Index 431