The American Catholic Experience

A History from Colonial Times to the Present

Jay P. Dolan

Spanning nearly five hundred years, The American Catholic Experience eloquently describes the Catholic experience from the arrival of Columbus and the other European explorers to the present day. Jay P. Dolan discusses Catholicism as it spread across the New World, transforming—and being tranformed by—he land and its people. The book follows the evolution of the urban ethnic communities by examining the vital contributions of the immigrant church to Catholicism. And finally, Dolan examines the controversy of the modern church and the extraordinary changes in the Catholic consciousness as it comes to grips with such contemporary social and theological issues as war and peace, the arms race, abortion, social justice, the ordination of women, and a married clergy.

“This book… will quickly capture your attention, and engage your mind, and make you think what it meant—and means—to be ‘a Catholic in America.’ This book cannot be ‘recommended.’ It must be labeled ‘essential.” — Spirituality Today

Jay P. Dolan is a Professor of History and Director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicsm at the University of Notre Dame. Previous publications include The Immigrant Church: New York’s Irish and German Catholics, 1815—1865, (Notre Dame Press, 1982) and Catholic Revivalism: The American Experience, 1830-1900 (Notre Dame Press, 1977).

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Jay P. Dolan is a Professor of History and Director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicsm at the University of Notre Dame. Previous publications include The Immigrant Church: New York’s Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865, (Notre Dame Press, 1982) and Catholic Revivalism: The American Experience, 1830-1900 (Notre Dame Press, 1977).