Skepticism and American faith: from the Revolution to the Civil War

Description

Cover; Skepticism and American Faith: From the Revolution to the Civil War; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Note on Sources; Skepticism and American Faith; Introduction; The Personal and the Political; Hiding Doubt and Silencing Skepticism; Framing the Discussion; Debate, Dialogue, and American History; PART ONE: REVOLUTIONS, 1775-1815; 1. Deist Hero, Deist Monster: On Religious Common Sense in the Wake of the American Revolution; Damnnation Murray and the Religious History of the American Revolution; Deist Hero: Ethan Allen; Deist Monster: William Beadle.;Between the Revolution and the Civil War, the dialogue of religious skepticism and faith profoundly shaped America. Although usually rendered nearly invisible, skepticism touched-and sometimes transformed-more lives than might be expected from standard accounts. This book examines Americans wrestling with faith and doubt as they tried to make sense of their world. Deist Hero, Deist Monster: On Religious Common Sense in the Wake of the American Revolution -- Souls Rising: The Authority of the Inner Witness, and Its Limits -- Instituting Skepticism: The Emergence of Organized Deism -- Instituting Skepticism: Contention, Endurance, and Invisibility -- Skeptical Enlightenment: An American Education in Jeffersonian Pennsylvania -- Christian Enlightenment: Eastern Cities and the Great West -- Christian Enlightenment: Faith into Practice in Marion, Missouri -- Revelation and Reason: New Englanders in the Early Nineteenth Century -- Faith in Reform: Remaking Society, Body, and Soul -- Infidels, Protestants, and Catholics: Religion and Reform in Boston -- Converting Sceptics: Infidel and Protestant Economies -- Political Hermeneutics: Nullifying the Bible and Consolidating Proslavery Christianity -- Lived Experience and the Sacred Cause: Faith, Skepticism, and Civil War. Cover Skepticism and American Faith: From the Revolution to the Civil War Copyright Dedication Contents Note on Sources Skepticism and American Faith Introduction The Personal and the Political Hiding Doubt and Silencing Skepticism Framing the Discussion Debate, Dialogue, and American History PART ONE: REVOLUTIONS, 1775-1815 1. Deist Hero, Deist Monster: On Religious Common Sense in the Wake of the American Revolution Damnnation Murray and the Religious History of the American Revolution Deist Hero: Ethan Allen Deist Monster: William Beadle. American Religious Common Sense in the New Republic2. Souls Rising: The Authority of the Inner Witness, and Its Limits Soul Exercises and Religious Community Religious Imposture and Skeptical Infidelity 3. Instituting Skepticism: The Emergence of Organized Deism Deism as Skepticism and Faith Emergence: Deism and Universalism 4. Instituting Skepticism: Contention, Endurance, and Invisibility Contention: Deism and the Freemasons Endurance: Deism and the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) Church On the Invisibility of Black Skepticism PART TWO: ENLIGHTENMENTS, 1790-1840. 5. Skeptical Enlightenment: An American Education in Jeffersonian PennsylvaniaFree Discussion and the Public Arena Diffusing Enlightenment Soul, Self, and Citizen The Night of Superstition 6. Christian Enlightenment: Eastern Cities and the Great West Skeptical Maniacs, Moral Agents, Evangelical Print, and the Christian Party in Politics The Cause and Cure of Infidelity 7. Christian Enlightenment: Faith into Practice in Marion, Missouri The Marion Dream Moral Economies 8. Revelation and Reason Doubting Scripture Transcending Scripture PART THREE: REFORMS, 1820-1850. 9. Faith in Reform: Remaking Society, Body, and SoulFrances Wright, Infidel Politics, and the Working Class Health Reform and the Three Confessions of William Alcott Ernestine Rose and the Religious Roots of Patriarchy 10. Infidels, Protestants, and Catholics: Religion and Reform in Boston Doubt and Calvinist Orthodoxy Universalism and Free Inquiry Protestant Liberalism, Catholicism, and Spiritualism 11. Converting Skeptics: Infidel and Protestant Economies Infidel and Protestant Economies The Prosperous Professional The Urban Artisan On Factory Workers and Plantation Slaves.