In distinctive voice and tone, cultural commentator Glenn W. Olsen presents his latest work on the place of Catholicism in American history. Here he clarifies the meaning of American modernity for Catholics and shows the conflicts and tensions confronting the religious person today. The essays take up such questions as the possibility of a neutral public order, the desirable relation between church and state, the spiritualities suitable to our historical situation, the form the principle of subsidiarity might take, and the range of hopeful possibilities for the future.

Olsen defines the current challenge for religious persons as how to be “in” but not “of” the world. Addressing some aspects of being in the world, he traces the historical roots of the idea of Catholic incarnational humanism and analyses the problems specific to Christian faith existing within a larger society of non believers. Olsen suggests that how we address such issues affects the religious and non religious alike, especially in a country of diverse religions.