The Democratization of American ChristianityThe half century following the American Revolution witnessed the transformation of American Christianity. In this book Nathan O. Hatch offers a provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the young republic, arguing that during this period American Christianity was democratized and common people became powerful accors on the religious scene. The passion for equality, says Hatch, brought about a crisis or religious authority in popular culture, introduced new and popular forms of theology, witnessed the rise of minority religious movements, reshaped preaching, singing, and publishing, and became a scriptural foundation for nineteenth-century American individualism. Hatch examines five distinct traditions or mass movements that emerged early in the nineteenth century: the Christian movement, the Methodists, the Baptists, the black churches, and the Mormons. Each was led by young men of relentless energy who went about movement building as self-conscious outsiders, However diverse their theologies and church organizations. Hatch points out, they all offered the unschooled and unsophisticated compelling visions of individual potential and collective aspiration. More effectively than religious movements in other modern industrial societies, these denominations embraced people without regard to social standing and challenged them to think, interpret Scripture, and organize the church for themselves. The religious populism that resulted remains among the oldest and deepest impulse in American life. |
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... Democracy - Religious aspects— Christianity - History of doctrines - 19th century . I. Title . BR525.H37 1989 277.3'081 - dc19 89-5439 CIP The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on ...
... Democracy and Christianity 3 The Church in an Age of Democratic Revolution ; A Passion for Equality ; Populist Leaders and Democratic Movements 2. The Crisis of Authority in Popular Culture 17 Ferment over Who Should Rule at Home ...
... Democracy , and the Millennium IV . LEGACY 7. Upward Aspiration and Democratic Dissent The Leaven of Democratic Persuasions ; The Allure of Respectability ; Firebrands of Democracy 8. Epilogue : The Recurring Populist Impulse in ...
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