Where Has Oprah Taken Us?

November 1, 2011

In this work, Mansfield (The Faith of George W. Bush) takes exception to the cafeteria-style personal religion that he ascribes to Oprah Winfrey. Though he begins by proposing to concentrate on the ideas behind Winfrey's spirituality, he doesn't hesitate to characterize Oprah or her spiritual teachers as ambitious, self-absorbed, or silly. Mansfield believes that history gives credence to Christianity but seems less willing to extend this credence to Eastern religions, on which much of Oprah's spirituality is based. He features worrisome quotes from some of her "gurus" such as Marianne Williamson and Deepak Chopra; however, he reuses the same examples over and over. Mansfield does make strong arguments that Winfrey's miscellaneous spiritual practices do little to explain evil or place an individual's focus on something other than himself or herself. He finds most troubling this implied replacement of a separate God with the self. VERDICT Although not for Oprahphiles, this flawed work will still be of interest to readers concerned with the direction of spiritual and religious life today.--Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids

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