Source: The Boston Globe
On April 22, 2000, The Boston Globe published an article on Roger Housden's recently released book entitled, "Sacred America: The Emerging Spirit of the People." Housden, who is British, writes: "America is still one of the most religious countries in the world, with over 90 percent believing in a god of some kind, and this religiosity has always colored the nation's own view of itself...This is why Americans, even if they do not articulate it in so many words, and in spite of everything that points to the whole experiment going horribly wrong, feel in their bones that there is something sacred about the United States of America." Housden points to how the cultural materialism of the United States has caused the "spiritual materialism" of current American society: "Transformation, or spiritual rebirth itself, through any number of unique methods, has become a major product line, which points to how unhappy people must be with who they are already." For those who are searching for deeper answers to their religious questions, many are not turning toward traditional religious institutions. Housden writes that the "Sacred America" is an "increasing communion of souls who are living their lives, not by some external dictate of creed or culture, but by the prompting of the knowing, intelligent heart - original meaning of conscience. This, rather than yet more experts and priests, is the fertile ground for a leaderless spiritual emergence."