Citizens of Zion: The Social Origins of Camp Meeting Revivalism [Hardcover]

Ellen Eslinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

One of America's most enduring forms of public worship, the camp meeting had its beginnings at the dawn of the nineteenth century during the "Great Revival" that swept the newly settled regions of the young republic. The culmination of this phenonenon came in 1801 at Cane Ridge Presbyterian meetinghouse in Kentucky, where more than ten thousand people gathered for a week of worship and fellowship. To trace the origins of the camp meeting, Ellen Eslinger follows Kentucky's development from its initial settlement in 1775 to the eve of the Great Revival. Citizens of Zion does more than explain a particular instance of religious revivalism; it explores the creation of a new form of worship that enabled people to relate more comfortably to a changing society through an intense collective experience.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Great Revival was a religious phenomenon that swept the country in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and led to the growth of popular religious sentiment. In Kentucky, this took the form of camp meetings, bringing together large crowds of people who listened to spirited sermons during the day and camped out at night. Contrary to traditional interpretations, which saw camp meeting revivalism as arising out of poverty, Eslinger (history, DePaul Univ.) considers the social milieu of Kentucky in great detail and finds that camp meeting revivalism was a result of the economic, political, and cultural tensions of the time. Examining the relationship between Presbyterian and Methodist preachers, as well as the composition of the groups that participated in the camp meetings, Eslinger offers a fresh, insightful, well-researched look at an iconic American phenomenon. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.AAugustine J. Curley, O.S.B., Newark Abbey, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: University of Tennessee Press; 1st edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572330333
• ISBN-13: 978-1572330337
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,968,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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