Out on Waters

For a denomination like Roman Catholicism that is canonically difficult to leave, many American Catholics are migrating beyond the institution's immediate influence. The new religious patterns associated with this experience represent a somewhat cohesive movement influencing not just Catholicism, but the whole of North American religion. Careful examination of the lives of disaffiliating young adults reveals that their religious lives are complicated. For example, the assumption that leaving conventional religious communities necessarily results in a non-religious identity is simplistic and even, perhaps, misleading. Many maintain a religious worldview and practice. This book explores one ""place"" where the religiously-affiliated and religiously-disaffiliating regularly meet--Catholic secondary schools--and something interesting is happening. Through a series of ethnographic portraits of Catholic religious educators and their disaffiliating former students, the book explores the experience of disaffiliation and makes its complexity more comprehensible in order to advance the discourse of fields interested in this significant movement in religious history and practice.

Author: James Michael Nagle
Publisher: Pickwick Publications
Published: 03/25/2020
Pages: 150
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.47lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.33d
ISBN13: 9781725255791
ISBN10: 1725255790
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Christian Education | Children & Youth
- Religion | Christian Ministry | Youth
- Religion | Christianity | Catholic

About the Author
James Michael Nagle teaches theology at Xavier High School in New York City. He studies contemporary movements of religion and spirituality, and their implications for wider culture.

James also works with church and other non-profit groups to develop content and curriculum for young adult audiences.