Book review: “American Grace”

A review-summary of Putnam and Campbell’s landmark work.

Last year, I was asked to review the book “American Grace” for the professional newsletter which our seminary’s continuing education program distributes. The review was recently published and is available here on the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary website. I’m not going to reproduce the whole review here; this post is a summary of it.

I was somewhat surprised that I was being asked to review a book published in 2010 in 2024 (and that the review, moreover, wouldn’t appear until 2025). However, the book had been on my reading list for some time, so I took the nudge, read the book, and wrote my review.

Here’s my review in a nutshell: American Grace is already too dated for most “professionals” in ministry.

It is an interesting read, and both laymen and clergy may enjoy it. I myself enjoyed reading it! But it won’t help a minister get his arms around the cultural changes that have taken place since the book’s release. I also found it unbalanced in important areas. Its focus on denominational congregations is puzzling, and its complete bypass of American Muslims is fatal. They are (unfortunately) a growing demographic in America’s spiritual marketplace. Although American Grace claims to be an overview of American religiosity as a whole, it’s really an overview of trends in American Christianity (with a nod to Jews and Mormons).

As I said, though: It’s an enjoyable read. If this kind of book interests you, and you’re someone I know in-person, I’ll happily loan you my copy.