Whitebread Protestants

At the beginning of Whitebread Protestants, Daniel Sack writes "When I was young, church meant food. Decades later, it's hard to point to particular events, but there are lots of tastes, smells, and memories such as the taste of dry cookies and punch from coffee hour - or that strange orange drink from vacation Bible school." And so he begins this fascinating look at the role food has played in the daily life of the white Protestant community in the United States. He looks at coffee hours, potluck dinners, ladies' afternoon teas, soup kitchens, communion elements, and a variety of other things. A blend of popular culture, religious history and the growing field of food studies, the book will reveal both conflict and vitality in unexpected places in American religious life.

"Mixing serious inquiry with a healthy dollop of humor...[Sack] has rearranged a culture most often viewed as mainstream and boring and effectively served it up as a complex and even exotic morsel." - New York Times Book Review

"...offers a funny and insightful pilgrimage into a diverse world of potlucks, communion services and coffee hours." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"An ordained minister with fond memories of his own early Wonder Bread communion, Sack instead asks us to give more thought to exactly how we now celebrate Communion ...recommended reading." - Norfolk Virginian-Pilot

"Whitebread Protestants is an excellent entrée for those new to food and culture studies, while still being of ample interest to those more familiar with the field." - Gastronomica

Autorentext
DANIEL SACK is the Associate Director of the Material History of American Religion Project.

Inhalt

Introduction
Liturgical Food: Potlucks and Coffee Hours
Emergency Food: The Development of Soup Kitchens
Global Food: Hunger Politics
Moral Food: Eating as a Christian Should
Conclusion
Notes
Index