In After Heaven, Robert Wuthnow describes how American spirituality has changed from the 1950s to the present. He shows that spirituality for many people has been affected by the unsettledness of our society during the past half century - by changes in families, communities, education, and work that have weakened the ability of religious organizations to define the meaning of spirituality.

Wuthnow suggests that the current fluidity in spiritual life can be understood in contrast to the more structured spirituality of dwelling that was the norm after World War II and throughout much of the 1950s. He demonstrates how this spirituality began to erode and led to the sense of spiritual homelessness that many have experienced.