Public Religion and Urban Transformation: Faith in the City (Book)
Lowell Livezey, Author.  New York, NY: New York University Press, 2000.

Public Religion and Urban Transformation: Faith in the City is an extraordinary product of the Lilly-funded RUAP (Religion in Urban America Program). Since the early '90s, RUAP has focused on understanding congregations and religious organizations in metropolitan Chicago and their roles in society. Housed at the University of Illinois at Chicago, RUAP complements a long history of Chicago-based urban studies.

Although there are nine contributors to the book, this decade-long project has been informed by many experts in the field and by participatory events, such as the five "Neighborhood Forums on Religion in Chicago" in 1996 and 1997. Taking a "bottom-up" Chicago School sociological approach, the book is based largely on in-depth ethnographic studies of more than 75 diverse and mostly urban congregations in eight neighborhoods.

The essay collection is enriched by quotes and photos about selected neighborhood congregations and religious service organizations. It will alter how the reader thinks about "public religion" and the contributions of traditional and immigrant congregations in addressing—or not addressing—member and community needs as well as attitudes and actions toward larger societal issues.

The book is an obvious choice for religious and congregational studies and urban sociology programs. It also is valuable reading for any clergy or lay person interested in how contemporary urban religious collectives are shaped by—and help shape—the lives of their own members, surrounding communities, and the larger society.

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