"Not only did the Awakening seriously undermine the established church system throughout the colonies but it also undermined the conception of a learned clergy and of rule by the predestined elect." -McLoughlin in "Pietism & the American Character" (pg. 168)
Finally, a connection! In this quote, McLoughlin reiterates exactly what Nathan Hatch was saying in his piece. The different religious movements changed the understanding of where authority lies. It shifted from those with clerical status and education to the every day, average person. I like that McLoughlin mentions the idea of the "Christian Commonwealth" or the Christian "political party." This shows how much power and influence the Christian community, whether they were "Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Separatists, or Methodists." They would put leaders in office that were part of this Commonwealth and in this way were able to infuse their moral values with the law. I think they blurred the lines between Church and State here. They used their new found authority and used it to their advantage in the legislative side of things. I liked that McLoughlin filled in some of the blanks of Hatch's piece and points out how exactly the Christians of the 2nd Great Awakening used the power they got once they undermined the clergy and scholars.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the assurance that the "plan" is working. Indeed we are reading authors who are in the same conversation so we expect them to "talk" to each other.
LDL