GOD IS IN THE DETAILS - REFLECTIONS ON RELIGIONS PUBLIC PRESENCE IN THE UNITED-STATES IN THE MID-1990S

This paper explores the current religious mood in the United States an d reflects upon its manifestations in the mid-1990s. It is argued that the religious mood has shifted - away from the cognitive and fixed be liefs and toward the experiential and expressive. It is further argued that given this change it is difficult to assess the current religiou s situation, especially given sociology-of-religion's reliance upon in stitutional categories and empirical indicators. Religious capital, li ke social capital, is not easily gauged without attention to new forms of community allowing individuals opportunity to express themselves a s whole persons. A plea is made for a sociology of religion more attun ed to body, mind, and self and thus to the dynamic and experimential q ualities of religion.