Do the lives of contemporary artists offer any insight for the church today? Although this broadly conceived book is not focused around this particular question, it offers a substantive beginning to the exploration of it. Wuthnow, a veteran scholar of the sociology of religion at Princeton University, moves into new territory in pursuing the spiritual interests and practices of artists as it relates to their creativity. He presents his research thematically and conveys it accessibly by his judicious editing and integration of more than 100 in-depth interviews with artists that form the basis of this work. Through the lives and words of these artists we journey with them in their encounter with the sacred, the seriousness of their often troubled spiritual explorations and the impact of this on self-identity, their art, discernment of life’s patterns, the body, nature, ecological