| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 94.2

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 214 words from this article are provided below; about 351 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 94.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion. By Catherine L. Albanese. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. xii, 628 pp. $40.00, ISBN 978-0-300-11089-0.)
The contemporary scene has witnessed an explosion of books on spirituality. In her latest book, Catherine L. Albanese makes a major contribution to that list. Albanese teaches at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is a nationally known scholar in American religion. A Republic of Mind and Spirit surveys the metaphysical tradition from its roots in fifteenth-century Europe to present- day America.	1
The author argues that along with evangelicalism and the liturgical churches, metaphysical religion is one of the three major traditions shaping American religion. The metaphysical approach—which can be regarded as a third way—is less documented and harder to pin down than the other two traditions. But it has had a major impact on both American religion and culture. She gives metaphysics a broad definition: "it will stand for an American religious mentality ... organized in terms of an identifiable set of themes." Those themes are fourfold: a "preoccupation with mind," a "predisposition toward ancient cosmological theory," "thinking in terms of movement and energy," and a "yearning for salvation" as found in therapy and healing (pp. 13–15).	. . .

There are about 351 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.