Heaven in the American Imagination

Does heaven exist? If so, what is it like? And how does one get in? Throughout history, painters, poets, philosophers, pastors, and many ordinary people have pondered these questions. Perhaps no other topic captures the popular imagination quite like heaven.

Gary Scott Smith examines how Americans from the Puritans to the present have imagined heaven. He argues that whether Americans have perceived heaven as reality or fantasy, as God's home or a human invention, as a source of inspiration and comfort or an opiate that distracts from earthly life, or as a place of worship or a perpetual playground has varied largely according to the spirit of the age. In the colonial era, conceptions of heaven focused primarily on the glory of God. For the Victorians, heaven was a warm, comfortable home where people would live forever with their family and friends. Today, heaven is often less distinctively Christian and more of a celestial entertainment center or a paradise where everyone can reach his full potential.

Drawing on an astounding array of sources, including works of art, music, sociology, psychology, folklore, liturgy, sermons, poetry, fiction, jokes, and devotional books, Smith paints a sweeping, provocative portrait of what Americans-from Jonathan Edwards to Mitch Albom-have thought about heaven.

Author: Gary Scott Smith
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 06/01/2011
Pages: 360
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.31lbs
Size: 9.58h x 6.34w x 1.12d
ISBN: 9780199738953
Award: Christianity Today Book Award - Award of Merit

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/09/2011
Library Journal 06/01/2011 pg. 105
Books & Culture 07/01/2011 pg. 14
Christianity Today 07/01/2011 pg. 71
Choice 10/01/2011
Christian Century 10/18/2011 pg. 25

About the Author

Gary Scott Smith is Professor of History at Grove City College, in Pennsylvania. He is the author, most recently, of Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush.

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