Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New Thought (Women and Gender in North American Religions) [Hardcover]

Gail M. Harley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While the names of Mary Baker Eddy, Ernest Holmes and Charles Fillmore are familiar to scholars of Christian Science and New Thought, the mention of Emma Curtis Hopkins is likely to elicit some blank stares. Yet this woman, argues Gail M. Harvey in Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New Thought, was something of a mother to the New Thought movement, evidenced by the fact that she taught both Holmes and Fillmore. As a biography, Harvey's book can be dry and dissertation-like, and she is sometimes too eager to cast Hopkins as an early feminist. Still, a study of this overlooked foremother of American religious history is long overdue and fills an important void.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Harley (religious studies, Univ. of South Florida; Women Building Chicago, 1770-1990: A Biographical Dictionary) provides a critical biography of an overlooked spiritual revolutionary. Initially inspired by Mary Baker Eddy, who focused on interpreting the Christian scriptures, Emma Curtis Hopkins (1853-1925) broke away to develop a more eclectic form of metaphysical idealism that came to be known as the New Thought. In her version of the Christian Trinity, she imagined three aspects of God, who played a role in different historical periods: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Mother-Spirit. Using this theology, she established an ordained ministry for New Thought that actively encouraged the membership of women (Hopkins herself became the first American woman to ascend to the episcopacy). This illuminating biography, well documented through quotations from Hopkins's letters, helps to reveal a unique religious thinker as well as the religious climate of late 19th-century America. The only study on Hopkins available, it will surely find an audience with feminists, historians, religious scholars, and the general public. Recommended for large public libraries, as well as seminary and feminist collections. Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Coll., Farmville, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr (Sd); 1 edition (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815629338
• ISBN-13: 978-0815629337
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,585,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten No More!, October 28, 2002

By 

Dell deChant (New Port Richey, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New Thought (Women and Gender in North American Religions) (Hardcover)

Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New Thought, by Dr. Gail M. Harley, is a major contribution to scholarship on New Religious Movements in America and especially the American New Thought movement. It is a must read for anyone interested in the New Thought Movement (Unity, Religious Science, Divine Science, Universal Foundation for Better Living, INTA, and other related groups). Harley's style is clear and straight-forward yet scholarly in its depth and precision of analysis and explication. Uncluttered with meaningless details and free of jargon, Harley's work on Hopkins is certainly accessible to average readers. Dr. Harley also tells the story of Hopkins' remarkable life in such a way that it comes alive for the reader. At times, Harley's biographical narrative reads like a good novel -- a real page turner. The new findings about Hopkins' work that Harley presents are destined to lead to reevaluations of the history of the New Thought movement -- infact, the book itself represents a major reevaluation of that history. To Dr. Harley's subtitle, this reader would add only: "forgotten no more" -- thanks to Dr. Harley.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Emma, not forgotten, December 26, 2008

By 

Rb Sorensen "Leo Virgo" (Unity Farm, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New Thought (Women and Gender in North American Religions) (Hardcover)

Emma Curtis Hopkins continues to be a force in the New Thought Movement whether she is known or unknown to most New Thoughters. While there is some useful information, this book is mainly a consolidation of existing scholarship in one source. There is nothing new here save some letters sparsely quoted. It does not seem that she had full access to the Fillmore or the Eddy correspondances. The authors interesting conclusions often indicate her lack of a strong grasp on Ms Hopkins teachings. We look forward to the day when a gifted writer comes along who can due justice to this great teacher.