Grounded

<p><strong>Winner of the RNA Book Award Nautilus Award and Wilbur Award.</strong></p><p><strong>This special paperback edition includes a 40-day devotional that pairs passages from <em>Grounded</em> with prayers and reflections ideal for use during the Lenten season or any season of reflection.</strong></p><p>The headlines are clear: religion is on the decline in America as many people leave behind traditional religious practices. Diana Butler Bass leading commentator on religion politics and culture follows up her acclaimed book <em>Christianity After Religion</em> by arguing that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people understand and experience God. The distant God of conventional religion has given way to a more intimate sense of the sacred that is with us in the world. This shift from a vertical understanding of God to a God found on the horizons of nature and human community is at the heart of a spiritual revolution that surrounds us -- and that is challenging not only religious institutions but political and social ones as well.</p><p><em>Grounded</em> explores this cultural turn as Bass unpacks how people are finding new spiritual ground by discovering and embracing God everywhere in the world around us--in the soil the water the sky in our homes and neighborhoods and in the global commons. Faith is no longer a matter of mountaintop experience or institutional practice; instead people are connecting with God through the environment in which we live. <em>Grounded</em> guides readers through our contemporary spiritual habitat as it points out and pays attention to the ways in which people experience a God who animates creation and community.</p><p>Bass brings her understanding of the latest research and studies and her deep knowledge of history and theology to <em>Grounded</em>. She cites news trends data and pop culture weaves in spiritual texts and ancient traditions and pulls it all together through stories of her own and others' spiritual journeys. <em>Grounded</em> observes and reports a radical change in the way many people understand God and how they practice faith. In doing so Bass invites readers to join this emerging spiritual revolution find a revitalized expression of faith and change the world.</p>