From Publishers Weekly
Greeley may be better known as a novelist than a sociologist, but in this latest book he is in full professional stride, offering studied observations on his Church in the years since the landmark Second Vatican Council (196265). As the title suggests, Greeley proposes that a revolution has occurred since the heady days of Vatican II. In fact, he likens the actions that made change possible to the storming of the Bastille. Vatican II's reforms were modest, Greeley believes, yet were "too much for the rigid structures of 19th-century Catholicism to absorb." In short, he says, the new wine burst the old wineskins. He attributes this to the Church's failure to adjust its rhetoric and style to educated contemporary Catholics who no longer blindly obey the directives of Church authorities. Thus, he writes, Church leadership is now in conflict with lower clergy and laity, who have redefined Catholicism on their own terms, holding onto core doctrines and traditions even as they disagree with the rules in such areas as sexual behavior. Greeley does not necessarily endorse these unofficial reforms, but he does applaud the laity for their faith and calls on Church leaders to recognize and respect them. He has especially harsh words for authoritarian liturgists who have imposed their vision of worship on congregations starving for a real connection between faith and daily life. Catholics who want to know what happened after Vatican II will find this compelling reading. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Greeley here intends to "reprise and refocus" his four decades of research on American Catholics. He cautions against overusing revolution as a metaphor for change and reluctantly applies it to post-Vatican II Catholicism, then develops it in an extended analogy between Vatican II and the French Revolution. He argues that "sacramentals" and good stories, in particular, hold the church together, and that "beauty will save the world." He is unable to resist personal attacks on those he characterizes as feminist ideologues, however, and he displays shocking chauvinism in claiming Catholic ownership of stories that predate Catholicism, venturing that Catholicism has the "richest repertory of images and metaphors" of all world religions, and asserting that "Catholic" stories are "more beautiful." "Jesus was the most charming man who ever lived," he avers, and that seems strangely appropriate coming from a man of enduring charm, part of which depends on reliably getting a rise out of an impressive range of readers. True to form, he gives us another book that should generate important discussion. Steven Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Alan Cochrum, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"The Catholic Revolution is a thought-provoking book-even if you are a conservative Protestant."


Review
"Greeley may be better known as a novelist than a sociologist, but in this latest book he is in full professional stride, offering studied observations on his Church in the years since the landmark Second Vatican Council. . . . Catholics who want to know what happened after Vatican II will find this compelling reading."--Publishers Weekly


Book Description
How, a mere generation after Vatican Council II initiated the biggest reform since the Reformation, can the Catholic Church be in such deep trouble? The question resonates through this new book by Andrew Greeley, the most recognized, respected, and influential commentator on American Catholic life. A timely and much-needed review of forty years of Church history, The Catholic Revolution offers a genuinely new interpretation of the complex and radical shift in American Catholic attitudes since the second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Drawing on a wealth of data collected over the last thirty years, Greeley points to a rift between the higher and lower orders in the Church that began in the wake of Vatican Council II--when bishops, euphoric in their (temporary) freedom from the obstructions of the Roman Curia, introduced modest changes that nonetheless proved too much for still-rigid structures of Catholicism: the "new wine" burst the "old wineskins." As the Church leadership tried to reimpose the old order, clergy and the laity, newly persuaded that "unchangeable" Catholicism could in fact change, began to make their own reforms, sweeping away the old "rules" that no longer made sense. The revolution that Greeley describes brought about changes that continue to reverberate--in a chasm between leadership and laity, and in a whole generation of Catholics who have become Catholic on their own terms.

Coming at a time of crisis and doubt for the Catholic Church, this richly detailed, deeply thoughtful analysis brings light and clarity to the years of turmoil that have shaken the foundations, if not the faith, of American Catholics.


Download Description
How, a mere generation after Vatican Council II initiated the biggest reform since the Reformation, can the Catholic Church be in such deep trouble? The question resonates through this new book by Andrew Greeley, the most recognized, respected, and influential commentator on American Catholic life. A timely and much-needed review of forty years of Church history, The Catholic Revolution offers a genuinely new interpretation of the complex and radical shift in American Catholic attitudes since the second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Drawing on a wealth of data collected over the last thirty years, Greeley points to a rift between the higher and lower orders in the Church that began in the wake of Vatican Council II--when bishops, euphoric in their (temporary) freedom from the obstructions of the Roman Curia, introduced modest changes that nonetheless proved too much for still-rigid structures of Catholicism: the "new wine" burst the "old wineskins." As the Church leadership tried to reimpose the old order, clergy and the laity, newly persuaded that "unchangeable" Catholicism could in fact change, began to make their own reforms, sweeping away the old "rules" that no longer made sense. The revolution that Greeley describes brought about changes that continue to reverberate--in a chasm between leadership and laity, and in a whole generation of Catholics who have become Catholic on their own terms. Coming at a time of crisis and doubt for the Catholic Church, this richly detailed, deeply thoughtful analysis brings light and clarity to the years of turmoil that have shaken the foundations, if not the faith, of American Catholics.


From the Back Cover
"Few scholars in our period have clarified the profound changes that have occurred in American Catholicism as well as Andrew Greeley has. This is a stunning and genuinely new interpretation of those radical shifts in Catholic thought post Vatican II."--David Tracy, University of Chicago

"Greeley tackles the big question of how the Roman Catholic Church could be in such deep trouble just a generation removed from its biggest reform. In this timely review of the last forty years, he reveals his mastery of both church politics and popular religious feelings. once again he shows us why millions of American Catholics trust him to be their voice."--Mike Hout, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley


About the Author
Andrew Greeley is a research associate at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and teaches sociology at the University of Arizona. He is the author of many scholarly books, including The Catholic Imagination (California, 2000), Religion as Poetry (1995), and Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics (1994), as well as more than thirty novels.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

How, a mere generation after Vatican Council II initiated the biggest reform since the Reformation, can the Catholic Church be in such deep trouble? The question resonates through this new book by Andrew Greeley, the most recognized, respected, and influential commentator on American Catholic life. A timely and much-needed review of forty years of Church history, The Catholic Revolution offers a genuinely new interpretation of the complex and radical shift in American Catholic attitudes since the second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Drawing on a wealth of data collected over the last thirty years, Greeley points to a rift between the higher and lower orders in the Church that began in the wake of Vatican Council II--when bishops, euphoric in their (temporary) freedom from the obstructions of the Roman Curia, introduced modest changes that nonetheless proved too much for still-rigid structures of Catholicism: the "new wine" burst the "old wineskins." As the Church leadership tried to reimpose the old order, clergy and the laity, newly persuaded that "unchangeable" Catholicism could in fact change, began to make their own reforms, sweeping away the old "rules" that no longer made sense. The revolution that Greeley describes brought about changes that continue to reverberate--in a chasm between leadership and laity, and in a whole generation of Catholics who have become Catholic on their own terms.

Coming at a time of crisis and doubt for the Catholic Church, this richly detailed, deeply thoughtful analysis brings light and clarity to the years of turmoil that have shaken the foundations, if not the faith, of American Catholics.

SYNOPSIS

Best-selling sociologist and novelist Andrew Greeley assesses the impact of Vatican Council II on the Catholic Church in the United States.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Greeley may be better known as a novelist than a sociologist, but in this latest book he is in full professional stride, offering studied observations on his Church in the years since the landmark Second Vatican Council (1962-65). As the title suggests, Greeley proposes that a revolution has occurred since the heady days of Vatican II. In fact, he likens the actions that made change possible to the storming of the Bastille. Vatican II's reforms were modest, Greeley believes, yet were "too much for the rigid structures of 19th-century Catholicism to absorb." In short, he says, the new wine burst the old wineskins. He attributes this to the Church's failure to adjust its rhetoric and style to educated contemporary Catholics who no longer blindly obey the directives of Church authorities. Thus, he writes, Church leadership is now in conflict with lower clergy and laity, who have redefined Catholicism on their own terms, holding onto core doctrines and traditions even as they disagree with the rules in such areas as sexual behavior. Greeley does not necessarily endorse these unofficial reforms, but he does applaud the laity for their faith and calls on Church leaders to recognize and respect them. He has especially harsh words for authoritarian liturgists who have imposed their vision of worship on congregations starving for a real connection between faith and daily life. Catholics who want to know what happened after Vatican II will find this compelling reading. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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