Orestes A. Brownson: American Religious Weathervane (Library of Religious Biography) [Paperback]

Mr. Patrick W. Carey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Library of Religious Biography | Publication Date: October 19, 2004

Orestes Augustus Brownson (1803-1876) was a philosopher, essayist, and minister whose broad-ranging ideas both reflected and influenced the social and religious mores of his day. This superb biography by Patrick Carey provides a thorough, incisive account of Brownson's shifting intellectual and religious life within the context of American cultural history. / Based on a close reading of Brownson's diary notebooks, letters, essays, and books, this biography chronicles the course of Brownson's eventful life, particularly his restless search for a balance between freedom and communion in his relations with God, nature, and the human community. Yet Carey's work is more than an excellent account of one man's development; it also portrays the face of an important period in American religious history. What is more, 200 years after Brownson's birth, America is marked by the same pressing social and religious issues that he himself addressed: religious pluralism, changing religious identifications, culture wars, military conflicts, and challenges to national peace and security. Carey's book shows how Brownson's values and ideas transcend his own time period and resonate helpfully with our own.

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About the Author

Patrick W. Carey is professor of theology at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also coeditor of Biographical Dictionary of Christian Theologians.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 1ST edition (October 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080284300X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802843005
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,606,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An exhaustive study of an American intellectual and spiritual odyssey, August 23, 2009

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This review is from: Orestes A. Brownson: American Religious Weathervane (Library of Religious Biography) (Paperback)

Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller -- these are well-known names from the American Renaissance of literature and spirituality. But what of their contemporary Orestes Brownson, a dynamic intellect whose writings and journey also speak to our own times? In this thorough study, you will get to know him well. In addition to covering Brownson's involvement in the complex political issues of his day, the book covers in detail his inner spiritual journey. This began with a "conversion" experience during a revival in his teens and a short time in the Presbyterian church. He eventually became a Universalist and then a Unitarian minister, where he joined forces with Emerson as a Transcendentalist. As he entered midlife, he began to question his religious individualism and subjectivism and moved toward a mature understanding of communion and living tradition which finally brought him home to the Catholic Church. Like many converts, he became a bit of a zealous reactionary at first; with time, his views became more balanced, but he remained for the rest of his life an impassioned and converservative apologist for the Catholic faith. Recommended.