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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... Revolution. In time, the issue of the well-being of ordinary people became central to the definition of being American, public opinion came to assume normative significance, and leaders could not survive who would not, to use Patrick ...
... Revolution , Methodism in America grew at a rate that terrified other more established denominations . By 1820 Methodist membership numbered a quarter million ; by 1830 it was twice that number . Baptist membership multiplied tenfold in ...
... Revolution The American Revolution is the most crucial event in American history . The generation overshadowed by it and its counterpart in France stands at the fault line that separates an older world Introduction 15.
... Revolution dramatically expanded the circle of people who considered themselves capable of thinking for themselves ... revolutionary legacy in a world ruled by aristocrats and kings . ” This book argues that the transitional period ...
... Revolution . Linking these equally potent traditions sent American Christianity cascading in many creative directions in the early republic . Church authorities had few resources to restrain this surge of movements fueled by the ...
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 |