Making Moral Citizens

“Delehanty’s excellent new book . . . draws on rich ethnographic and interview data to explore how one of the largest progressive faith‐based community organizations (FBCO) in the United States—an organization Delehanty calls ELIJAH—effectively brings together diverse constituencies to work toward common goals. By focusing on how organizations motivate and sustain civic action, Delehanty makes an important contribution to our understanding of the intersections between religion and progressive politics.”—Contemporary Sociology

“A probing and thoughtful exploration of how faith-based organizers use religion to further the political project of moral citizenship. . . . [Delehanty] takes this familiar claim and goes to new depths: politics is personal, yes, and for religious participants in faith-based community organizing, politics is religious.”—Journal of Church and State

“A remarkably rich and detailed ethnography. [Making Moral Citizens] is a testament to the value of long ethnographic work—the stories of organizing campaigns and meetings are highly evocative, and Delehanty captures not only what happens, but also the affective tenor of the activities.”—Reading Religion

“Jack Delehanty has written the best book on faith- and broad-based community organizing in a generation, and one of the best books in cultural sociology and the sociology of religion.”—Sociology of Religion

“Commendable. . . . [B]ecause it provides substantial practical and theoretical insights into social movements and religion, Delehanty’s book should be appreciated by both undergraduate and graduate readers alike.”—Social Forces

“A timely contribution to contemporary sociological debates about religion, politics, and social movements in the United States. . . . [A] welcome intervention in the debate on religion and activism in the United States and recommended for sociologists interested in culture and politics and political sociology more generally.”—American Journal of Sociology

“An immersive, thoughtful study on the context and practices of progressive religious organizing for social justice. Grounded in outstanding qualitative research, Delehanty’s book delivers fresh insight into the relationship between religion and politics.” —Gerardo Martí, author of American Blindspot: Race, Class, Religion, and the Trump Presidency

“Delehanty emerges here as an important new voice on the religious and cultural underpinnings of social movements—and perhaps the scholar best positioned to bridge conversations between faith-based organizers and their secular counterparts.”—Richard L. Wood, University of New Mexico