This ambitious volume gathers the work of twenty-eight scholars in twenty-six presentations written originally for the 2017 College Theology Society annual conference. The essays vary in focus, approach, and quality, but aim loosely to take stock of American Catholicism in the new century. Dramatic events and disclosures in the months since the conference would likely have reshaped many of the assessments of the state of American Catholicism, though perhaps not the prescriptions for its renewal.

The conference asked if the church was at a crossroads, in a crisis, or poised for renewal, and the editors have arranged the authors’ answers into three distinct parts.

The first part, “Reassessing ‘American Catholicism,’” seeks to expand our understanding of the both halves of that phenomenon. Eight contributors approach the undertaking. Timothy Matovina urges scholars to widen their focus to both non-Europeans in, and Americans outside of, the United States, while Paul Monson focuses his work on Latino Catholicism in the United States. Four conference papers laud William Portier's powerful influence on American Catholic theology via comments on Weaving the American Catholic Tapestry, a volume of essays published in his honor. Portier and Sandra Yocum recall chairing a similar CTS conference two decades earlier that focused entirely on “resources for renewal.” No mention of crisis then.

Patricia Wittberg counsels parishes to develop programs and liturgies that balance assimilation and pluralism to best create and nurture diverse communities. William Clark notes the instability caused by parish closings and finds inspiration in Pope Francis’ four principles: time is greater than space; unity prevails over conflict; realities matter more than ideas; and the whole is greater than the part.

Part 2 focuses on opportunities and challenges that today's church faces. Katherine Mahon worries that understanding the Mass causes the laity to like it less and urges a restoration of mystery—perhaps an argument for reducing theology courses in Catholic universities’ curricula. Mary Doak fears that a resurgent emphasis on white Christian identity weaponized religion and urges theologians to stress communal ties to compensate. Anthony J. Godzieba argues that the condemnation of contemporary culture that grew during John Paul II's papacy led many Catholics to reject an incarnational theology, to see the world as “fundamentally Godless and devoid of grace.” But Francis sees “grace as overflowing the boundaries” and offers the hope that its salvific power can be activated anywhere.

Jessica Coblentz discerns a white Catholic theological racism in Detroit's 1975 Theology in the Americas conference and in the preparations for the 2017 CTS conference. Dana Dillon urges Catholic universities to analyze institutional racism in order to fulfill John Paul II's insistence that they upset host cultures with gospel ideals. Mary M. Doyle Roche notes that heteronormativity may be one of those American cultural assumptions worth upsetting and finds wisdom in LGBTQ youth's commitment to supporting the common good.

Nicholas Mayrand recommends engaging individuals “right in front of us” instead of worrying about social science polls that report a rise in “nones.” Should that engagement reveal the crisis that sexually predatory clergy created for their victims and the broader church, John Sheveland suggests borrowing insights from trauma studies, a tactic he reinforces after teaching a course on the crisis.

Part 3, “Resources for Renewal within American Catholicism,” identifies much from which Catholics might draw. Bishop Stephen E. Blaire recommends Pope Francis’ three themes of working together, changing structures, and protecting the earth as sources of renewal. Michael Baxter wisely notes Donald Trump's challenge for Catholics too aligned with American culture and proposes following Dorothy Day's example of keeping distant from the state. Alison Downie applauds Day's rejection of sainthood as too sterilizing and sees the complicated lives and works of Nancy Mairs and Mary Karr as resources for rejuvenation. Steven Harmon celebrates the Southern Baptist dialogue with the CTS, and Daniel Horan recommends revisiting Thomas Merton's explication of structural racism. Laura Taylor sees a feminist dimension to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the narratives that help us to see the preferential option for the poor. Matthew Verghese applauds the various US bishops’ statements on the environment and sees in these and Francis’ encyclical on the issue sources for renewal.

Just months after the conference, it is hard to contemplate discussions of the state of American Catholicism absent a richer and more sustained focus on clergy sexual abuse and the impact that it has had in the Americas. These more recent revelations tilt the landscape far more heavily toward crisis than crossroads. And yet the resources that contributors identified for renewal in this moment would likely remain the same. These social movements seeking to empower women, marginalized people of color, the economically oppressed, the LGBTQ community, and the environment constitute a call to democratize Catholicism. This volume's contributors see alternatives to a clerical-centric Catholic resurgence, and thereby offer great hope for the future.