Jonathan Edwards, Religious Tradition, and American Culture [Paperback]

Joseph A. Conforti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 1995

As the charismatic leader of the wave of religious revivals known as the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) is one of the most important figures in American religious history. However, by the end of the eighteenth century, his writings were generally dismissed as remnants of a moribund Puritan tradition. Focusing on the publishing history and appropriation of Edwards's works by succeeding generations, Joseph Conforti explores the construction and manipulation of the Edwards legacy and demonstrates its central place in American cultural and religious history. Most of Edwards's writings were not regularly republished or widely read until the early nineteenth century, when he emerged as a prominent thinker both in academic circles and in the new popular religious culture of the Second Great Awakening. Even after the Civil War, Edwards remained a popular figure from the Puritan past for colonial revivalists. But by the early twentieth century, scholars had again reinvented Edwards, this time deemphasizing his influence. These contrasting constructions of the one man, Conforti says, reveal the dynamic process of cultural change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Conforti's presentation is solidly researched and clearly written.

Religion & Literature

A carefully documented, lively account . . . that will be read quite profitably across several disciplines for years to come.

Historical Journal of Massachusetts

The research is excellent, the prose clear and attractive, and the argument thoughtful. . . . This is scholarship of a high order.

Church History

Conforti's feast is rare and delightful.

Harvard Divinity Bulletin

An important contribution to Edwards studies and to the study of the history of religion in America.

Christian Century

About the Author

Joseph A. Conforti is director of the American and New England studies program at the University of Southern Maine. He is author of Samuel Hopkins and the New Divinity Movement: Calvinism, the Congregational Ministry and Reform in New England between the Great Awakenings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (November 8, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807845353
• ISBN-13: 978-0807845356
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,773,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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