Radically Open: Transcending Religious Identity in an Age of Anxiety - Softcover

Shedinger, Robert F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1620320428 ISBN 13: 9781620320426

Publisher: Cascade Books, 2012

Synopsis

America stands in the throes of an anxiety epidemic, yet Americans live in one of the most religious countries in the world? Shouldn't people with deep spiritual roots be less vulnerable to emotional suffering? Such an enigma stands at the center of this book, but the enigma turns out to be more apparent than real. The overt religiosity so characteristic of modern American society ironically serves to foster the anxiety epidemic by locking people into a disenchanted secular mindset, leaving them cut off from the deep spiritual resources they so desperately need in the face of mounting anxiety. Based on the author's own journey through the darkness of anxiety in conversation with the psychology of Carl Jung, this book argues that transcending religious identity and submitting to the greater wisdom of the cosmic story holds a powerful key to resolving anxiety and creating a more just and sustainable world. Surprisingly, the Islamic tradition may provide one of the best models for how to accomplish this.

About this title

About the Author

Robert F. Shedinger is Professor of Religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He holds a PhD in religious studies from Temple University and is the author of Radically Open (Cascade Books, 2012) and Was Jesus a Muslim? (2009). He is a frequent speaker in Islamic centers in the United States and Canada.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1620320428
• ISBN 13: 9781620320426
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144