Sociology Faculty and Staff Publications

Authors

Richard L. Wood

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Abstract

"Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life" clearly mattered when it was published in 1985: One of only a handful of truly sociological books on the New York Times' list of bestsellers in recent decades, it was widely discussed in congregations, book groups, and classrooms throughout the country. But how might it matter today? Does it carry lasting significance twenty-plus years after publication, or stand as an important but dated commentary on the excesses of 1980s individualism?

Publication Title

For a twentieth anniversary special edition of Sociology of Religion edited by David Yamane, 2006

Language (ISO)

English

Keywords

Social science

Comments

This article was first given as a paper at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, at a session on Habits of the Heart: Twenty Years Later organized and convened by Dr. David Yamane, now of Wake Forest University. My thanks to him and to the other panelists Kelly Besecke, Wendy Cadge, and Robert Zussman.

Share

COinS