History of religion Books

Book SynopsisIn a fascinating work of religious history and cultural inquiry, Hatfield brings to life the true story of a nineteenth-century farmer-spiritualist, Jonathan Koons, whom thousands traveled to Ohio to see. As heirs to the second Great Awakening, he and his followers were part of a larger, uniquely American moment that still marks the culture today.Trade Review“This is a marvelous book. It reads like a novel or a screenplay but also functions as a prism that opens up into dozens of other important aspects of nineteenth-century American religion: spiritualism, Johnny Appleseed, Swedenborgianism, atheism, social reform, women’s rights, psychometry, and so on. Perhaps most significantly of all, the author’s rare combination of humanistic sympathy, intellectual generosity, and healthy doubt is a model of what this kind of historiography can be.”“The work of Jonathan Koons, and, indeed, midwestern Spiritualism in general, has often been overlooked, so Enchanted Ground is a welcome contribution to the field. The book has many strengths, not least of which are its evocative descriptions. Hatfield’s skill as a researcher, writer, and story-teller make this book appropriate for both scholarly and general readers." * Nova Religio *“An unbiased, rich story that situates the historic and consequential acts of ‘the Venerable Jonathan Koons’ and the events that took place in southeast Ohio in wider modern spiritualist and reform movement contexts. Hatfield clearly illustrates the comfort, hope, and sense of community Koons’s supporters found in his séances, imaginative stories, and ostensible ability to connect the living with the dead.” * Ohio History *“Sharon Hatfield has made a painstaking examination of Koons’s life and career. A fascinating snapshot of the Spiritualist movement in its infancy.” * Journal of Scientific Exploration *“Hatfield offers a solid biography of one of the most famous and influential spiritualists of the nineteenth century…. Those interested in the hope and optimism spiritualism engendered will enjoy Hatfield’s biographical appreciation of a fascinating figure.” * Journal of Parapsychology *“By an evocative rendition of his story, Hatfield neatly dispels the view that Koons’s ‘spirit room’ was just one more trivial example of the public’s fascination with nineteenth century spiritualism. Instead, her explanation of Koons’s influence in Ohio and the Midwest clearly establishes his significance as one of the most important mediums of the era.”“Hatfield demonstrates well (Koons’s) enormous impact on the spiritualist movement, with his popular spirit room becoming a major pilgrimage site in early American spiritualism, serving as a major source of inspiration for later spiritualist practitioners in the 1850s and beyond…. Although this book is of obvious interest to scholars of spiritualism, it should also be of interest also to scholars working in various other subfields of religious studies…. Having done the painstaking work of compiling and organizing the history of Koons and his circle, Hatfield has provided scholars with an important resource….” * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *“(Enchanted Ground) is more than a spiritual biography of one man, it is an history of early Spiritualism in the Midwest…. It would be hard to come away from reading this book without having a deeper understanding of this critical first decade of Spiritualism.” * The National Spiritualist Summit *“Hatfield is a skilled writer and this book is both entertaining and a valuable contribution to the psychical research literature.“ * Society for Psychical Research Journal *

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Book SynopsisA distinctive Afro-Baptist faith emerged as African religious emphasis on spirit possession, soul-travel, and rebirth combined with evangelical faith. This book presents the history of the Alabama Missionary Baptist State Convention - its origins, churches, associations, conventions, and leaders. It also explores the role of women.Trade ReviewThis work makes a significant contribution to the study of American church history. It is clear and does a good job of surfacing figures, communities, and their roles in the history of Black Baptists in Alabama. - Stephen G. Ray Jr., author of Do No Harm: Social Sin and Christian Responsibility

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Book SynopsisOffers an insightful history and analysis of James Dobson's rise to fame, his effect on American evangelical culture, and subsequent descent from relevance. Extensively researched, Løvdal Stephens has scoured through Dobson's books, articles, and other materials in order to explore how evangelicals defined and defended the traditional family.Trade ReviewHilde Løvdal Stephens's book, is a deeply researched, well-conceived, and well-executed study of one of the most influential and underexamined figures in the history of the modern Religious Right." - Joseph Crespino, author of Atticus Finch, The Biography: Harper Lee, Her Father, and the Making of an American IconTable of Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. Sex and Civilization Chapter 2. Evangelical Parenting Chapter 3. Sex Education Is a Family Affair Chapter 4. Family Values and the Problem of Race in America Chapter 5. God and Gays Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisShows how the social attitudes of women were shaped during the Progressive era. By studying primary documents, Carol Crawford Holcomb uncovers ample evidence that WMU leaders, aware of the social gospel and sympathetic to social reform, appropriated the tools of social work and social service to carry out their missionary work.Trade ReviewSouthern Baptists are not usually associated with the social gospel, but they should be. In Home without Walls, Carol Crawford Holcomb demonstrates that the Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) nurtured women and encouraged them to engage in socially oriented ministry that went far beyond church planning. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in southern religion and social engagement." - Keith Harper, author of The Quality of Mercy: Southern Baptists and Social Christianity, 1890-1920Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. They Feared God More Than Men: The Birth of the WMU Chapter 2. The Reconstruction of True Womanhood: WMU and Gender Chapter 3. Professionalism and Administration: The Armstrong Era Chapter 4. Unreliable Allies: Southern Baptist Women and Race Chapter 5. Saving Society: The Personal Service Department and the Social Gospel Chapter 6. "A Gospel for All of Life": Teaching and Proclaiming the Social Gospel Chapter 7. The Kingdom at Hand: Social Work Training and Social Settlements Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisProvides the first substantive analysis of texts produced in English Benedictine convents between 1600 and 1800 in order to examine a major dilemma experienced by every English convent on the Continent: how could English nuns cultivate a cloistered identity when the Protestant Reformation had swept away nearly all vestiges of English monasticism?Trade Review“Goodrich presents by far the most cohesive account of the six English Benedictine convents that were founded in France and Flanders following the Dissolution, arguing that the need to create a new English monasticism offers a privileged space for us to investigate community formation. Her rigorous analysis of administrative, spiritual, polemical, and historical/life writing (grounded on over 1,000 surviving manuscripts and books) breaks new ground in the depth and breadth of its analysis and in its advancing of a feminist philosophical practice for early modern women’s writing.”- Marie-Louise Coolahan, author of Women, Writing, and Language in Early Modern Ireland;“Writing Habits makes a compelling case that these recovered texts are not simply of documentary interest but indeed are voices we need to listen to, speaking eloquently across time about many of the current spiritual questions that continue to engage us today. Using ‘strategic presentism,’ Goodrich seeks to bridge the gap between a historicist focus on material textual production and a philosophical perspective in a work of importance to those studying early modern women writers, cultural historians, and modern theories of the nature of community.”- Margaret J. M. Ezell, author of The Oxford English Literary History, vol. 5, 1645–1714: The Later Seventeenth Century;“Writing Habits offers a trifecta of timely and welcome scholarly interventions. Goodrich demonstrates with finesse and precision how the dialogic and communitarian ethics of Martin Buber refines the critical vocabularies associated with the ‘turn to religion’ in early modern literary studies, even as it also enlarges the methodological equipment associated with feminist philosophical investments in the field and archivally driven assessments of early modern women’s writing. These three lines of thought converge in Goodrich’s expert scrutiny of the rich archive of materials documenting the writing genres and tactics used by early modern exiled English Benedictine convent communities to maintain a sense of communitarian and religious integrity in the face of internal as well as external challenges. The resulting picture fulfills the book’s promise to disclose new perspectives on the supple cultural and religious grammar of early modern women’s writing as exhibited in the diasporic career of the English Benedictines. Beyond that, Writing Habits models how the act of ‘thinking with’ from a Buberian vantage point opens unimagined vistas on forgotten or neglected materials from the early modern period. The inroads gained here speak powerfully to contemporary feminist investments in cultivating a posture of attunement to theoretical perspectives and matters of moment that may be found germinating in the discursive texture of long-marginalized writings.”- Lowell Gallagher, author of Sodomscapes: Hospitality in the Flesh

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Book SynopsisCompares the faith and politics of former Confederate chaplains during the Reconstruction period, and argues for some counterintuitive understandings of their beliefs and practices in the post-war period.

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Book SynopsisQuestions the assumption that colonial American churches are seedbeds of democratic sentiment merely awaiting the American Revolution to cast off the shackles of both political and religious domination. This title shows that colonial American religious organization reflected a clear and conscious commitment to British patterns of life and faith.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIn his edition and translation of Angélique de Saint-Jean Arnauld d’Andilly’s writings, John J. Conley, S.J., continues his exploration of the history and thought of the women of Port Royal. Fr. Conley’s introduction perfectly contextualizes Angélique de Saint-Jean’s writings. His translation is clear and accessible. His informative notes help the modern reader understand the complexities of Jansenist thought, and navigate complicated historical episodes. This volume provides an excellent portrait of a remarkable intellectual and spiritual woman leader during one of the most fascinating chapters in seventeenth-century France. Sharon Diane Nell Professor of French and Dean of the School of Humanities, St. Edward’s UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xiiiIntroduction 1Report on Captivity 21On the Conformity between the State to Which Port-Royal Has Been Reduced and the State of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist 169On the Danger of Hesitation and Doubt Once We Know Our Duty 175Bibliography 181Index 183

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