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
Results 1-5 of 58
... Boston to take a job at Notre Dame — only to find himself surrounded by three Protestants . Bob , we shall long remember your clear exposition of the proper distinction be- tween schismatic , heretic , and infidel . Each of these co ...
... Boston's first daily newspaper , recalled the terrific stir that Dow created when he invaded a parish in Ridgefield , Connecticut , where Goodrich's father served as minister : " Lorenzo was not only uncouth in his person and appearance ...
... Boston radical Benjamin Austin , Jr. , superbly cap- tures the interrelated protests against elite control of politics , law , religion , and the press . As successor to Samuel Adams as the leader and favorite of the Boston crowd ...
... Boston's Independent Chronicle . Later published as Observations on the Per- nicious Practice of the Law , Austin's articles became the single most effective protest in the broader move for legal reform . 36 Throughout the 179os ...
... in Kentucky , Pennsylvania , and Massachusetts . 42 Radical republi- cans such as Boston's Austin denounced the legal profession for needlessly confusing court cases in order to charge high fees , Crisis of Authority 27.
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 |