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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... publish to the world the discoveries of heaven or hell which he supposes he has had in a dream , or trance , or vision . " 21 The early republic was also a democratic movement in a third sense . Religious outsiders , flushed with ...
... published far more material in their lifetimes than did America's august divines . They certainly commanded broader audiences . Historians have often overlooked the flood of print produced by per- sons depicted as stalwarts of ...
... " worse than nothing . " In response , he published a lengthy rebuttal in which he challenged the very foundations of traditional New England religious life , including the " habit of believing the Crisis of Authority 19.
... 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 , Austin kept egalitarian principles before ...
... published throughout the union . There is no question that he preached to more people , traveled more miles , and consistently attracted larger au- diences to camp meetings than any preacher of his day . From New York City to the wilds ...
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 |
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The Democratization of American Christianity Nathan O. Hatch,Professor Nathan O Hatch Limited preview - 1989 |