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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... reform using the rhetoric of the Revolution . The press swiftly became a sword of democracy , fueling ardent faith in the future of the American republic . At the same time , Americans who espoused evangelical and egalitar- ian ...
... reform in politics , communications , law , medicine , and reli- gion . In each of these areas , radical Jeffersonians , seizing upon issues close to the hearts of the people , resurrected " the spirit of 1776 " to protect elite control ...
... reforms gained a new intensity toward the close of the century with the rapid expansion of a Jeffersonian press of vigorous dissent . The American Revolution made newspaper reading a way of life for many . 28 At the same time , freedom ...
... reform . 36 Throughout the 179os , Austin kept egalitarian principles before the people with regular articles in the Independent Chronicle . He continued to argue for " the benevolence and dignity of the people " and to assail the ...
... reform the law 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 |