Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 24, 1990                   TAG: 9006240290
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Reviewed by NELSON HARRIS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AUTHOR STUDIES RELIGION IN U.S.

Mormonism. Fundamentalism. Christian Science. New Age cults. Gurus. Pentecostals. Heritage USA. All of these are found in the "Divine Supermarket," the name Malise Ruthven gives to the religious culture of the United States.

A native of England, Ruthven wants to explore the reasons why America appears to be more religious than other industrial countries, namely those of Europe. According to the author, only Ireland surpasses the United States in religiosity. As a percentage of the population, more people in the United States attend church or synagogue, or profess a religious belief than do those in Britain, France, Italy, Japan or Germany. Why?

To find out, Ruthven embarks on a religious tour of America, stopping at places that have held religious significance to certain groups. Stops include Salt Lake City, the California enclaves of gurus and New Age prophets, First Baptist of Dallas, and Lynchburg, Va. He also visits the church where Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach, along with other mainline Catholic and Protestant houses of worship and service.

With each stop, Ruthven interviews people, provides some historical background and gives his often-irreverent opinion of the situation. Ruthven's travels make for enlightening reading into what some Americans believe and practice.

"The Divine Supermarket" is at its best in the epilogue, where the author gives a final analysis of the religious life of the United States. Ruthven, a Dartmouth professor of religion and an admitted agnostic, believes that the Jeffersonian wall between church and state is the foundation for the "divine supermarket": "The commitment to religious pluralism implicit in the Constitution, the tax exemptions granted to churches, the First Amendment freedoms of speech and worship, provide fertile soil in which new religions can grow."

What follows is an excellent essay on the history and theory of the uniquely American concept of the separation of church and state. However, Ruthven may give more credit to the First Amendment than is due. Simply because something is permissible does not necessarily provide its reason for being. Surely there are social, psychological, spiritual and economic forces that cause people to support and dedicate themselves to a religious movement. Unfortunately, these issues remain unexplored in "The Divine Supermarket."