Darkness Falls on the Land of Light

Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England
Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4696-5227-6
Verlag: Omohundro Institute and UNC Press

Buch, Englisch, 632 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 1061 g

Reihe: Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press

This sweeping history of popular religion in eighteenth-century New England examines the experiences of ordinary people living through extraordinary times. Drawing on an unprecedented quantity of letters, diaries, and testimonies, Douglas Winiarski recovers the pervasive and vigorous lay piety of the early eighteenth century. George Whitefield's preaching tour of 1740 called into question the fundamental assumptions of this thriving religious culture. Incited by Whitefield and fascinated by miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit-visions, bodily fits, and sudden conversions-countless New Englanders broke ranks with family, neighbors, and ministers who dismissed their religious experiences as delusive enthusiasm. These new converts, the progenitors of today's evangelical movement, bitterly assaulted the Congregational establishment.

The 1740s and 1750s were the dark night of the New England soul, as men and women groped toward a restructured religious order. Conflict transformed inclusive parishes into exclusive networks of combative spiritual seekers. Then as now, evangelicalism emboldened ordinary people to question traditional authorities. Their challenge shattered whole communities.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Winiarski, Douglas L.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein Missionswissenschaft, Missionsgeschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Douglas L. Winiarski is professor of religious studies and American studies at the University of Richmond.