Providential thinking clearly shapes ideas about California. Does the opposite also take place? Does California shape religion and theology too? Is there perhaps a unique California theology, call it Californianity? In a state where religious adherence is increasing rather than declining – unlike the rest of the country – these questions have an unexpected purchase. And the theologians and scholars in this volume, following Josiah Royce’s call for a “higher provincialism,” bring welcome new light to the connections between place and faith.

Theology is faith seeking understanding – yes, but of California? As a theologian and native Californian, I am delighted to recommend this collection of essays that seek to understand the spirit of the place that shaped my childhood (and millions of others), and how the Holy Spirit may be active in that place. The church, after all, is always local, and a theology of California will undoubtedly serve Christ’s body in California by fostering understanding and enabling her to continue her ongoing mission of witnessing both to the lordship of Jesus Christ over all things and to the renewal of all things in Christ.

This volume… is an ambitious undertaking to bring theology into the conversation of California – what it was, what it is, and what it will become. To the degree that co-editors Sanders and Sexton have raised pertinent questions to interrogate our state’s spiritual situation, as well as have offered clear examples of Californian theological reflection, they have succeeded admirably… Theology and California is an excellent launching point for further theological work about California and the diversity of Californian experiences. It heads us in the right direction by asking the right questions.’

Arranged to encourage debate and discussion, their organization of the material drives their theme from the start with a series of poignant efforts to clarify the meaning of California as a theological subject, followed by a solid core of empirical contributions that extend from the historic role of the California missions to the theological efficacy of California’s persisting surf culture and the theological implications of Silicon Valley’s innovation proclivities. Ending with instructive speculations by a theologian, sociologist and historian on the book’s overriding motifs, Theology and California squarely puts its concerns on the academic and cultural map.