While a large percentage of Americans claim religious identity, the number of Americans attending traditional worship services has significantly declined in recent decades. Where, then, are Americans finding meaning in their lives, if not in the context of traditional religion? In this provocative study, the authors argue that the objects of our attention have become our god and fulfilling our desires has become our religion. They examine the religious dimensions of six specific aspects of American culturebody and sex, big business, entertainment, politics, sports, and science and technologythat function as âEURoealtarsâEUR where Americans gather to worship and produce meaning for their lives. The Altars Where We Worship shows how these secular altars provide resources for understanding the self, others, and the world itself. âEURoeFor better or worse,âEUR the authors write, âEURoewe are faced with the reality that human experiences before these altars contain religious characteristics in common with experiences before more traditional altars.âEUR Readers will come away with a clearer understanding of what religion is after exploring the thoroughly religious aspects of popular culture in the United States.

Juan M. Floyd-Thomas is Associate Professor of African American Religious History at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. He is the author of Liberating Black Church History: Making It Plain, among other works.