tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post864540198291016316..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: By the Rivers of Babylon, where the Pilgrims WeptPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-62473016845140489802010-07-08T18:07:08.428-06:002010-07-08T18:07:08.428-06:00@Ryan: I just finished the chapter on the colonial...@Ryan: I just finished the chapter on the colonial migrations in Ahlstrom's <i> A Religious History of the American People </i> and he goes back to the Reformation to try and link the two. Here's what he says:<br /><br />"Yet the spirit of capitalism latent in so much of England's expansion was intensified by the way in which the Reformation accentuated certain motifs of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, motifs which for centuries had a dynamic effect on Western civilization. The Reformation, in the British Isles as elsewhere, was essentially a Christian revival in which the biblical understanding of man and history was forcefully proclaimed. This mean a renewal of concern for <i> this </i>, <i> this </i> world, and all their impinging problems, moral and social." (His emphasis)<br /><br />I'd take that to mean that the Reformation began a process of channeling the economic and the religious flows into the same streams. <br /><br />See, this exam reading <b> is </b> helpful!Michael J. Altmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352048990586521566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-34563996651558470072010-07-08T14:34:06.376-06:002010-07-08T14:34:06.376-06:00Ever since I read both William Cronon's _Chang...Ever since I read both William Cronon's _Changes in the Land_ with Perry Miller's _Errand into the Wilderness_ for my comprehensive exams, and then assigned them in my historical method's classes (books you should read ... still, as well as a good historiographic exercise), I've been wondering if anyone has tried to reconcile the Puritans' economic "adventure" with their religious mission. Not being a colonialist myself, I'm not familiar with the latest scholarship, but I would be fascinated to read a monograph that didn't try to downplay the one in favor of the other. <br /><br />Is there anything out there to help us through this historiographical thicket?Ryan J. Careyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08310975835994534721noreply@blogger.com