A People Adrift - by Peter Steinfels (Paperback)

About the Book

In this national bestseller, the most influential layman in the United States reports that the Roman Catholic Church in America must either profoundly reform or lapse into permanent irrelevance.

Book Synopsis

In this widely acclaimed book that will long remain an indispensable work on American religion and the Catholic Church, one of its most influential laymen in the United States says that the Roman Catholic Church in America must either reform profoundly or lapse into irreversible decline.
In addition to providing a spiritual identity for over 60 million Americans, the church is the nation's largest nongovernmental provider of education and social services, as well as the largest not-for-profit provider of health care. But even before the recent revelations about sex abuse by priests, American Catholicism was already heading for a major crisis, with its traditional leadership depleted by the decline in religious vocations and paralyzed by "theological gridlock."
Catholicism in the United States confronts hard choices among contrasting visions for the future, choices with huge implications for American life. Analyzing these choices in ways that escape all the familiar labels of conservative or liberal, Steinfels points to the directions the church must take to survive.

Review Quotes

Alan Wolfe The New Republic The moderation and the heartfelt sincerity on display throughout Steinfels' book constitute, at least for this non-Catholic, an exceptionally persuasive defense of Catholicism as the church goes through its difficult days.

David O'Brien National Catholic Reporter Peter Steinfels is uniquely qualified by his experience, his access to sources and his journalist's professionalism to survey the state of contemporary American Catholicism.

Garry Wills The New York Times Steinfels' balance makes all the more unsettling the harsh conclusions he draws, in his quiet voice, from looking at every aspect of Catholic life....[A] disturbing book.

Kevin Starr Los Angeles Times Book Review Peter Steinfels is among the most distinguished and respected Catholic commentators in the country....A People Adrift is balanced and judicious.