The Democratization of American ChristianityA provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic "The so-called Second Great Awakening was the shaping epoch of American Protestantism, and this book is the most important study of it ever published."—James Turner, Journal of Interdisciplinary History
Winner of the John Hope Franklin Publication Prize, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic book prize, and the Albert C. Outler Prize In this provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic, Nathan O. Hatch argues that during this period American Christianity was democratized and common people became powerful actors on the religious scene. Hatch examines five distinct traditions or mass movements that emerged early in the nineteenth century—the Christian movement, Methodism, the Baptist movement, the black churches, and the Mormons—showing how all offered compelling visions of individual potential and collective aspiration to the unschooled and unsophisticated. |
From inside the book
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... Baptist movements among white and black Amer- icans . Starting from scratch just prior to the Revolution , Methodism in America grew at a rate that terrified other more established denominations . By 1820 Methodist membership numbered a ...
... Baptists had almost as many preachers in the early republic as did the Episcopalians . Antimission Baptist preachers far outnumbered both Ro- man Catholic priests and Lutheran pastors . One new denominational clus- ter , the Christians ...
... Baptist ; Richard Allen , the African Methodist Episcopal ; and Joseph Smith , the Latter - Day Saint ) went outside normal denominational frame- works to develop large followings by the democratic art of persuasion . These are ...
... Baptist , Freewill Baptist , Methodist , Universalist , and Christian — Bentley noted the first field meeting in the county since George Whitefield , preaching by blacks and illiterate sailors , and servants angering their employers by ...
... Baptist " wrote in The Patriot , or Scourge of Aristocracy ( Stonington - Port , Connecticut ) in 18o1 to explain how he could no longer remain " neuter in opinion in politics . I have formerly been what is gener- ally called a ...
Contents
3 | |
17 | |
49 | |
67 | |
The Sovereign Audience | 125 |
The Right to Think for Oneself | 162 |
Upward Aspiration and Democratic Dissent | 193 |
The Recurring Populist | 210 |
A Sampling of Anticlerical | 227 |
Notes | 244 |
Index | 305 |
Other editions - View all
The Democratization of American Christianity Nathan O. Hatch,Professor Nathan O Hatch Limited preview - 1989 |