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

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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.