Contents
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. English Socinianism: Antecedent to American Unitarianism
2. The Socinian Migration and the Founding of American Unitarianism
3. Joseph Priestley and Unitarianism in Philadelphia
4. Unitarianism in Northumberland and the American Religious Frontier
5. Socinianism, Arianism, and the Quest for Unitarian Identity
6. “Respecting the Good Cause in Our Neighborhood”
7. Conclusion: The Death and Resurrection of English Unitarianism?
Bibliography
Index
J. D. Bowers is Assistant Professor of History at Northern Illinois University. He has worked extensively with the Joseph Priestley House and Museum, serving as a consultant and writing a guide for docents.
“This beautifully and persuasively written account of the
contributions of Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism to the
development of liberal religious thought in nineteenth-century
America offers a valuable contribution to the growing
historiography on the transatlantic exchange of ideas in the early
republic and on the role of religious thought in influencing
political discourse on such topics as toleration and cultural
identity. Professor Bowers renders complex issues of religious
belief and denominational difference understandable while stressing
their importance in a broader context of social, political, and
intellectual history.”—Mark D. McGarvie,University of Richmond,
History Department at the University of Richmond and author of One
Nation Under Law
“A resolute and positive reaffirmation of Joseph Priestley’s place
in the heritage of American Unitarianism. J. D. Bowers reminds us
of both the complexity and importance of theology in early American
history.”—Daniel Walker Howe,Oxford and UCLA
“In Joseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America, J.D.
Bowers turns the historical lens and brings into focus two
significant American locations where Joseph Priestley’s earliest
efforts to establish liberal religious congregations took root in
the early national period—Philadelphia, the nation’s capital and
Northumberland, the frontier outpost that was Priestley’s home from
1794–1804.“Readers seeking evidence of English Unitarianism’s
contribution to the history and development of Unitarianism in the
religious landscape of America’s Atlantic world will be rewarded
with this volume, which is well-steeped in pertinent pamphlets,
tracts, letters, and sermons that inform the author’s position on
English Unitarianism’s critically influential role in the
development of Unitarianism in America.”—Andrea Bashore,
Director,Joseph Priestley House Museum
“A welcome contribution to the long-neglected historiography of
American Unitarianism.”—P. W. Williams Choice
“This book is an example of Unitarian historiography at its best,
wherein interesting detail is intertwined with a most stimulating
argument.”—Leonard Smith Faith and Freedom
“An indispensable study of the origins of American Unitarianism and
of Pennsylvania religious history.”—Eric R. Schlereth Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography
“An indispensable study of the origins of American Unitarianism and
of Pennsylvania religious history.”—Eric R. Schlereth Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
