The Delight Makers

Anglo-American Metaphysical Religion and the Pursuit of Happiness

The Delight Makers
Catherine L Albanese
RRP:
NZ$ 56.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 45.59
Paperback
h229 x 152mm - 384pg
17 Jan 2023 US
Eta 3-5 days from NZ Market Release
9780226823546
Out Of Stock
- Preorder Title for delivery after release -
An ambitious history of desire in American religion across over three centuries. The pursuit of happiness weaves disparate strands of American religious history together. In The Delight Markers, Catherine L. Albanese unravels a theology of desire tying Jonathan Edwards to Ralph Waldo Emerson to the religiously unaffiliated today. As others emphasize redemptive suffering, this tradition stresses the "metaphysical" connection between natural beauty and spiritual fulfillment. In the earth' s abundance, these thinkers see an expansive God intent on fulfilling human desire through prosperity, health, and sexual freedom. Through careful readings of Cotton Mather, Andrew Jackson Davis, William James, Esther Hicks, and more, Albanese reveals how a theology of delight evolved alongside political overtures to natural law and individual liberty in the United States.
"What if the history of religion in the United States was primarily understood not through piety or respectability but through desire and delight? That is the wager of this startling book by one of the greatest interpreters of American religion. The pursuit of happiness has never been more sensual, mischievous, or weird. " -- Kathryn Lofton, Yale University "The Delight Makers has all the makings of a classic: richly researched, theoretically original, never jargony, often funny, intellectually adventurous, ontologically sympathetic, keenly aware of our present academic context and its moral concerns, and, in the end, responsive to all. I set the book down in a mood I much expected: admiration, perhaps even delight. " -- Jeffrey J. Kripal, Rice University "Here the affections of Jonathan Edwards' s theology, the delights of Emerson' s nature, and the aspirations of William James' s religious psychology commingle with the visions of clairvoyants, the allures of occultists, and the copious promises of mind-cure proponents. The Delight Makers is an expansive and magnetic history of an American cosmology in which longings for beauty, vitality, happiness, and abundance have proven endlessly energizing. " -- Leigh Eric Schmidt, Washington University in St. Louis
Catherine L. Albanese is J. F. Rowny Distinguished Professor Emerita in Comparative Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is the author of numerous books, including A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780226823546
Published: 17 Jan 2023
Published In: United States
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Format: Paperback
Height: 229mm
Width: 152mm
Pages: 384

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information