Spirited Lives - by Carol K Coburn & Martha Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

Spirited Lives: How Nuns Shaped Catholic Culture and American Life, 1836-1920

Book Synopsis

Made doubly marginal by their gender and by their religion, American nuns have rarely been granted serious scholarly attention. Instead, their lives and achievements have been obscured by myths or distorted by stereotypes. Placing nuns into the mainstream of American religious and women's history for the first time, Spirited Lives reveals their critical impact on the development of Catholic culture and, ultimately, the building of American society.
Focusing on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, one of the largest and most diverse American sisterhoods, Carol Coburn and Martha Smith explore how nuns directly influenced the lives of millions of Americans, both Catholic and non-Catholic, through their work in schools, hospitals, orphanages, and other social service institutions. Far from functioning as passive handmaidens for Catholic clergy and parishes, nuns created, financed, and administered these institutions, struggling with, and at times resisting, male secular and clerical authority.
A rich and multifaceted narrative, Spirited Lives illuminates the intersection of gender, religion, and power in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century America.

Review Quotes

A great historical perspective on religious life and puts today s discussion of vocations and religious life in a new light.

"Catholic News Service"

ÝBrings¨ into sharp focus something that needs regular emphasis: the historical role of women in the church.

"Commonweal"

"Spirited Lives" makes an important contribution to the history of women religious through its use of current scholarship and methodology.

"Catholic Historical Review"

[Brings] into sharp focus something that needs regular emphasis: the historical role of women in the church.

"Commonweal"

An important book for readers interested in a more broadly inclusive story of women's experience in America.

"American Historical Review"

An invaluable resource for anyone seeking to understand the history of women's religious communities in the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century .

"Comptes Rendus"

About the Author

Carol K. Coburn is professor of religion and history at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. Martha Smith is professor emerita of history at Avila University.