Harold Bloom's The American Religion is something of a neglected classic. Bloom, a titanic figure in American letters, reads our native faiths — Mormonism, Pentecostalism, Baptism, Nation of Islam — like literary texts to be interpreted, appreciated, understood. He makes the case that faith is the animating spirit of American history. With a keen appreciation for religion, which, like poetry, he sees as a complete expression of our humanity, Bloom offers a startling, but amply