Description: "Demonstrates how the small but influential "Death to the World" movement can be understood within the context of antimodernist subcultures within American Eastern Orthodoxy"--
Brief description: Robert Saler is Associate Professor of Religion and Culture, Executive Director of the Center for Pastoral Excellence and the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs at Christian Theological Seminary, USA.
Review Quotes:
"Deftly weaving together theological and cultural critique, Robert Cady Saler offers us the first interdisciplinary study on the Death to the World movement and its attached affective eschatological politics of rebellion and belonging. Through interviews with group leaders, textual analysis, and theological interrogation, Saler wrestles with the relationships among music, consumerism, religion, and identity politics, asking provocatively: Can rebellion be purchased? An essential read for understanding the emphasis on apocalyptic politics and capitalism that animates contemporary Christianity in the United States, Saler reminds us of why Orthodox Christianity should be central to the study of American religion(s)." --Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Northeastern University, USA
"Saler carefully navigates an intricate blend of personal admiration, frustration, and concern regarding a niche movement within the Eastern Orthodox community in the United States. His contemplative approach toward both the virtues and the troubling elements of Death to the World stands as a rare gem amidst an era dominated by bitter conflicts between competing sociopolitical and religious ideologies. The book's deliberate and balanced analysis sets a notable standard for the current age of upheaval and passionate discord. Within its pages, the text illuminates how conspiracy theories have impacted not only conservative Evangelical Christianity in the U.S. but are also seeping into an Americanized fringe faction of Eastern Orthodoxy. Saler provides a compelling yet disquieting case study that is meticulously researched and full of fascinating excerpts from primary source material." --Jason Aukerman, Indiana University, USA "This book asks a compelling question: Can tradition be counterculture, and can rebellion be Orthodox? Saler's innovative and eloquent analysis of an important movement in the history of Orthodox Christianity in America reveals both the vitality and danger of radical religious critique of modernity, and will be of great interest to anyone asking what it means to seek the truth amidst the despair and confusion of modern life." --Phil Dorroll, Wofford College, USA