Lab director’s book named one of Word and Way 2022 Books of the Year

Lab Director Wendy Cadge appeared on the Word & Way podcast Dangerous Dogma in September; her book Spiritual Care: The Everyday Work of Chaplains has been named one of Word & Way’s 2022 Books of the Year.

From Word & Way:

“The work of chaplains is a rapidly growing element of the American religious landscape. Few scholars have illuminated the complexity of chaplaincy like Cadge, a sociologist. Her latest book takes chaplains in the Boston area as a case study for understanding both the evolutions of chaplaincy and how it is diversely practiced today. Often embodying the tension between church and state by carrying out their vocational work in public settings, chaplains warrant greater attention for what they reveal about the state of the American soul. Cadge’s latest book is a wise guide into this neglected but vital area of ministry.”

Chapter 1 of Spiritual Care: The Everyday Work of Chaplains is now available in full online. The abstract to that chapter follows:

The book begins with a description of the central role played by Catholic prison chaplain Edward Hartigan in a hostage situation at the Charlestown State Prison in 1955 and the work of chaplains during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. This topic is then more recently situated in media descriptions of chaplains during the COVID-19 pandemic and names the questions central to the book. It outlines the conceptual approach the study adopted to answer these questions, addresses the vagueness of the term chaplain and the book’s approach to it, explains Boston as the choice of the case study, and then briefly frames the research questions in relevant scholarly conversations about American religious life. The chapter includes relevant national data and addresses questions about generalizations from Boston as a case before concluding with outlines of the chapters to come.