Public Confessions by Rebecca L Davis

Public Confessions by Rebecca L Davis

Personal reinvention is a core part of the human condition. Yet in the mid-twentieth century, certain private religious choices became lightning rods for public outrage and debate. Public Confessions reveals the controversial religious conversions that shaped modern America. Rebecca L. Davis explains why the new faiths of notable figures including Clare Boothe Luce, Whittaker Chambers, Sammy Davis Jr., Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Chuck Colson, and others riveted the American public. Unconventional religious choices charted new ways of declaring an authentic identity amid escalating Cold War fears of brainwashing and coercion. Facing pressure to celebrate a specific vision of Americanism, these converts variously attracted and repelled members of the American public. Whether the act of changing religions was viewed as selfish, reckless, or even unpatriotic, it provoked controversies that ultimately transformed American politics.Public Confessions takes intimate history to its widest relevance, and in so doing, makes you see yourself in both the private and public stories it tells.

Rebecca L. Davis is Miller Family Early Career Professor of History at the University of Delaware. She is author of More Perfect Unions: The American Search for Marital Bliss.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781469664873
ISBN 10	1469664879
Title	Public Confessions
Author	Rebecca L Davis
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	The University of North Carolina Press
Year published	2021-10-30
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.