The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England : a Guide to Sacred Sites and Peaceful Places

Jana Riess

Jan. 2002 · Hidden Spring

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New England's sacred landscape is dotted with the white steeples of Puritan meetinghouses, the ancient spiritual sites of Native Americans, and the clapboard dwellings of famous poets, preachers, artists and philosophers. The land of covered bridges, village greens and endless stone walls also boasts the country's oldest synagogue and its very first Baptist church; it was home to Quakers, Shakers, and Transcendentalists, and to the founders of Mormonism and Christian Science. More recently, New England has become truly multireligious, with Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists now living side by side with Christians, Jews and Native Americans. The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England is a unique guidebook. It introduces hundreds of churches, synagogues, mosques, meetinghouses, Buddhist meditation centers, Hindu and Sikh temples, as well as retreat centers of all religious traditions. It lists landmarks that rank among America's oldest and finest works of architecture and contain treasures of spiritual art and history. It describes some of the nation's most beautiful gardens, parks, cemeteries and other peaceful places, and the natural beauty of New England's mountains, forests and rocky shores. Introductory chapters recount New England's spiritual history, offer an overview of its many faith traditions, and explain its sacred architecture. Written for readers and seekers of every faith and none, The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England reveals the stories behind these extraordinary sites and places of spiritual power and takes you to the heart and soul of this ancient land. New England's sacred landscape is dotted with the white steeples of Puritan meetinghouses, the ancient spiritual sites of Native Americans, and the clapboard dwellings of famous poets, preachers, artists and philosophers. The land of covered bridges, village greens and endless stone walls also boasts the country's oldest synagogue and its very first Baptist church; it was home to Quakers, Shakers, and Transcendentalists, and to the founders of Mormonism and Christian Science. More recently, New England has become truly multireligious, with Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists now living side by side with Christians, Jews and Native Americans. The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England is a unique guidebook. It introduces hundreds of churches, synagogues, mosques, meetinghouses, Buddhist meditation centers, Hindu and Sikh temples, as well as retreat centers of all religious traditions. It lists landmarks that rank among America's oldest and finest works of architecture and contain treasures of spiritual art and history. It describes some of the nation's most beautiful gardens, parks, cemeteries and other peaceful places, and the natural beauty of New England's mountains, forests and rocky shores. Introductory chapters recount New England's spiritual history, offer an overview of its many faith traditions, and explain its sacred architecture. Written for readers and seekers of every faith and none, The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England reveals the stories behind these extraordinary sites and places of spiritual power and takes you to the heart and soul of this ancient land. +

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Jana Riess is the religion book review editor for Publishers Weekly. She holds a Ph.D. in American religious history from Columbia University and a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. She did her undergraduate work at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and has lived in various places throughout New England.