“Few things have rocked the American Church more than the clergy sexual abuse scandals of recent years. Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), a grassroots group committed to holding the church accountable, emerged as a result. Tricia Bruce shows with empirical depth and theoretical nuance the potential power and the institutional challenges facing such efforts. There are lessons here for students of American Catholicism, religious organizations, and social movements.”–Rhys H. Williams, Director, McNamara Center for the Social Study of Religion, Loyola University Chicago

“This important contribution to social movement studies reveals the strengths and limits of intrainstitutional social movements, where obedience to authority of the bishops is a given, and places the study of religious movements within the broader context of intrainstitutional social movements. The book is rich in first-hand accounts from the movement’s founders and active members.”–William V. D’Antonio, co-author of Voices of the Faithful: Loyal Catholics Striving for Change

“Through her deft use of discourse analysis, interview, and participant observation methods, Tricia Colleen Bruce tells the story of Voice of the Faithful–an example of what she calls an ‘intrainstitutional social movement’–in great depth. As if this were not enough, she also broadens her account by explaining how institutional context shapes activists’ strategies, collective identities and, ultimately, their chances of being successful. This is a very thoughtful analysis.”—Jerome P. Baggett, author of Sense of the Faithful: How American Catholics Live Their Faith