The history of America cannot be told without the history of religion, the history of American religion cannot be told without the history of Catholicism, and the history of Catholicism in America cannot be told without the history of Jesuits in America.
Jesuits in the United States offers a panoramic overview of the Jesuit order in the United States from the colonial era to the present. David J. Collins, SJ, describes the development of the Jesuit order in the US against the background of American religious, cultural, and social history. He covers the papacy's suppression of the order and its restoration period. He also compares Jesuit activities in the US with those in Europe and, by the twentieth century, to those around the world, as the political and religious connections between the US and the world, especially Latin America, grow. Collins also reflects on the future of the order in light of its past.
Both readers familiar with the Jesuit tradition and those new to it will learn from this book's distinctive and modern perspective—using twenty-first-century scholarship on Jesuit slaveholding, the sexual abuse crisis, and other contemporary issues—to analyze five hundred years of Jesuit history in the United States.
Reviews
"An absolutely superb overview of the history and legacy of the Jesuits in the United States by a top-notch scholar and gifted writer. Beautifully written, expertly researched, and masterfully presented by a Jesuit who has taught this fascinating tale for many years, Father Collins’s book is bound to become a classic."—James Martin, SJ, author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything,
"David Collins's concise history of the Jesuits in the United States is the first of its kind. Written for general and scholarly audiences, readers can follow the trajectory of American Catholic history alongside the fascinating lives of Jesuits from the colonial period to the present."—Michael Pasquier, professor of religious studies and history, Louisiana State University
"Collins’s analysis of the Jesuits’ imprint on the history of the United States is cogent and compelling, as is his examination of how this global religious congregation was shaped by the experience of its members and missions in North America. His chronicle is at once admirably comprehensive in its scope and tantalizing enough to entice the reader to want to learn more—a triumph!"—Kathleen Sprows Cummings, professor of history and American studies, University of Notre Dame,
"Judicious in its selections of Jesuits (both familiar and otherwise), measured in its assessment of the order's successes, and unflinching in its treatment of noted failures, Collins's insightful, engaging, and sweeping book will prove a mainstay of syllabi and bookshelves as well as a model for other regional histories that constitute the shared global story of the Society of Jesus."—Seth Meehan, associate director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, Boston College
"Collins has given us a highly accessible primer on the Society of Jesus in the United States—its goals, activities, methods, animating beliefs, and legacies. Sensitive to important and necessary changes in our understanding of settler colonialism. This book should enlighten fans and critics alike."—Maura Jane Farrelly, author of Papist Patriots: The Making of an American Catholic Identity
"[M]akes the fascinating and complex history of the order accessible to a new generation of readers."—National Catholic Reporter
"This is an excellent short history of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, in the US."—CHOICE connect
"Collins's ability to interest readers in an ever-changing set of people and events while orienting them to key moments and trends in a welter of shifting imperial, national, and denominational histories is striking."—Journal of Jesuit Studies
"[D]avid Collins has excelled at the task, producing a gem of a book that provides readers with an engaging and accessible introduction to a complex story."—Jesuit Higher Education
"The book offers glimpses of color and drama while providing a sturdy framework within which to understand Jesuit actions and contributions....An unusually rich array of images, including maps, portraits, and handwritten documents from the archive, further enhance this smart, elegant volume's appeal."—Journal of Jesuit Studies
"The book would be welcome in an undergraduate course on religion in North America and in a survey of Catholic Studies, while its readability also makes it attractive for general audiences....Collins maintains a measured tone throughout, nicely balancing individual profiles with larger trends, and social forces versus internal decisions and Vatican pressures...."—American Catholic Studies
"[D]avid Collins, SJ, has...summarized the story of the Society of Jesus (at least in the United States) in a crisp, 200-page narrative that most readers will be able to digest in a sitting or two....It is, therefore, an excellent primer to the history of the Jesuits and will hopefully become a bedrock introductory text for future generations of readers."—Journal of Church and State
"Fr. David Collins, S.J. has produced a compact and thoroughly engaging study of America's Jesuits."—Catholic Southwest
