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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... slavery , to men of that degree ; Bound to support their knavery when we might all be free ; They'r nothing but a canker , we can with boldness say ; So let us hoist the anchor , left Priest - craft float away . ()3 At the same time ...
... slavery , women's rights , and health reform . Julian Sturtevant , a Yale graduate and Congregational missionary to Illinois , found a " realm of confusion and religious anarchy " when he arrived in Jacksonville in 1829 : " In Illinois ...
... slavery . One could revel in Christian history with John W. Nevin or wipe the slate clean with Alexander Campbell . One could opt for traditional piety or join a perfectionist sect . Religious options in the early republic seemed ...
... slavery , a position that Asbury favored but could not enforce . Smith found little room in his kingdom for people of color , even as Richard Allen insisted that blacks be granted equal opportunity to frame the gospel in their own terms ...
... slave and free . Even as society became more stratified , few Ameri- cans were untouched by the diverse strains of the gospel being pro- claimed . 1 The Christian Movement In the fall of 1814 an alarmed Stephen Porter , the Presbyterian ...
Contents
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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 |