Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe author's strategy is to identify contemporary literature defending and condemning the rake ministers and radical sexual practices religion legitimized. He argues that these debates helped shape Americans' understanding of monogamous marriage. Contemporary readers are reminded of the significance of freedom of religion and the press in informing opinion and of the persistence of gender injustice and clerical failures.
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Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. "Fanaticism can wield such a mighty influence over the female heart": The Evolving Rhetoric of Anti-Mormonism in the Early Republic
2. "A Base and Unmanly Conspiracy": The Hogan Schism and Catholicism in a Gendered Religious Marketplace
3. "The Fruits of Shakerism": The Embodiment of Motherhood in Debates between Shakers and their Rivals
4. Mixing "the poison of lust with the ardor of devotion": Conjuring Fears of the Reverend Rake and the Rise of Anti-Enthusiasm Literature
5. The Sexual Containment of Perfectionism: John Humphrey Noyes and his Critics
Conclusion
