Wuthnow, R. 1998. After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California, Berkeley.
In this book, Robert Wuthnow argues that American spirituality has undergone a sea change over the past fifty years, shifting from a “spirituality of dwelling” to a “spirituality of seeking.” According to Wuthnow, economic and social changes in the 1960s were responsible for the shift from taken-for-granted, place-bound forms of spirituality to an ongoing process of spiritual negotiation. Americans today must confront their spirituality in a more secular context, and must therefore relate to it in a more assertive and deliberate manner. This has led to a kind of spirituality focused on the self, eclectically pieced together from a variety of sources, and oriented to a new ideal of freedom. Wuthnow calls for a spirituality of practices that encourages deeper engagement with the sacred while maintaining spirituality’s adaptation to a more fluid time.
