The Devil is a Gentleman - book review

I've got a bit or a backlog of book reviews as I finished reading several books almost at the same time. I apologize if it seems too many at once.

Every once in a while I will check out a book from the library that can only be described as weird. The Devil is a Gentleman - Exploring America's Religious Fringe by J. C. Hallman can best be described as that sort of book.

It's written as sort of a review of 19th century writer and philosopher William James's works and thoughts, especially as they relate to the range of religious organizations and ideas that flourished in America during his life. That, however, accounts for only about 70 pages of this book. Hallman's literary agent must have promised a great deal more so Hallman went about fleshing out this review with real experiences of today's American religions.

Thus we're treated to Hallman's investigative reporting of seven fringe "religions" roughly identified as Druids, the Christian Wrestling Federation, the Church of Satan, Scientology, American Atheists, Wiccans/Pagans, and New Skete (a monastery dedicated to breeding and raising dogs). This is certainly not your usual list of cults.

Hallman treats each group with respect but not unthinking reverence. When something is weird or hokey, he points it out. However, in comparisons he's not above pointing out the weird and hokey in mainstream religion as well.

The thesis of the book seems to be that we can get a sense of American religion by examining a bunch of outliers. Given the 100's of religions in America, I think the sample size is just too small to get anything other than a sense of weird.