Comments on: Religious Patterns of Thought in American History http://religioninamerica.org/2009/10/20/religious-patterns-of-thought-in-american-history/ A collaborative exploration of the history of religion in America Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:10:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Paul http://religioninamerica.org/2009/10/20/religious-patterns-of-thought-in-american-history/#comment-55 Paul Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:31:58 +0000 http://religioninamerica.org/?p=239#comment-55 Lincoln, you might be interested in Will Herberg's 1955 book <em>Protestant, Catholic, Jew: An Essay in American Religious Sociology</em>. He was one of the earliest guys to note that American civil religion was the descendant of American Protestantism. He coined the phrase "secularized Puritanism" to describe the "American Way of Life." Lincoln, you might be interested in Will Herberg’s 1955 book Protestant, Catholic, Jew: An Essay in American Religious Sociology. He was one of the earliest guys to note that American civil religion was the descendant of American Protestantism. He coined the phrase “secularized Puritanism” to describe the “American Way of Life.”

]]> By: Lincoln Mullen http://religioninamerica.org/2009/10/20/religious-patterns-of-thought-in-american-history/#comment-54 Lincoln Mullen Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:03:30 +0000 http://religioninamerica.org/?p=239#comment-54 As an example of scriptural pattern of thought, see this (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) article from the <em>Brandeis Hoot</em> about <a href="http://thehoot.net/articles/6788" rel="nofollow">carrying around a pocket Constitution</a>. As an example of scriptural pattern of thought, see this (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) article from the Brandeis Hoot about carrying around a pocket Constitution.

]]> By: Lincoln Mullen http://religioninamerica.org/2009/10/20/religious-patterns-of-thought-in-american-history/#comment-53 Lincoln Mullen Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:11:55 +0000 http://religioninamerica.org/?p=239#comment-53 Over at the much better known blog on American religious history, <a href="http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2009/10/rebirth-of-metaphor.html" rel="nofollow">Paul Harvey has posted excerpts</a> of a <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091102/white/" rel="nofollow">review of Jackson Lears's <em>Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920</em></a>. According to the review, Lears uses the metaphor of regeneration to synthesize American history during the Progessive Era. The idea of regeneration is another religious pattern of thought that I could add to the list above. Both the reviewer and Harvey criticize Lears's use of regeneration to synthesize Progressive Era history. Leaving aside the question of whether that criticism is warranted (I'm inclined to think that it's not, but I haven't read the book), I should point out that the way Lears is synthesizing is different than what I'm suggesting above. Lears is using regeneration as a metaphor, which can be seen in many aspects of American culture during the period he studied. My suggestion is one level of abstraction above that: the metaphor of regeneration could be just one of a group of metaphors that have influenced American culture. But at the same time, my suggestion is not abstract: it deals with specific patterns that influenced people's thinking directly, rather than being metaphors in which they expressed their ideas. Another pattern of thought that I should have mentioned is the exodus. That is a way of thinking that is profoundly influential in African American culture and religion. Over at the much better known blog on American religious history, Paul Harvey has posted excerpts of a review of Jackson Lears’s Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920. According to the review, Lears uses the metaphor of regeneration to synthesize American history during the Progessive Era. The idea of regeneration is another religious pattern of thought that I could add to the list above.

Both the reviewer and Harvey criticize Lears’s use of regeneration to synthesize Progressive Era history. Leaving aside the question of whether that criticism is warranted (I’m inclined to think that it’s not, but I haven’t read the book), I should point out that the way Lears is synthesizing is different than what I’m suggesting above. Lears is using regeneration as a metaphor, which can be seen in many aspects of American culture during the period he studied. My suggestion is one level of abstraction above that: the metaphor of regeneration could be just one of a group of metaphors that have influenced American culture. But at the same time, my suggestion is not abstract: it deals with specific patterns that influenced people’s thinking directly, rather than being metaphors in which they expressed their ideas.

Another pattern of thought that I should have mentioned is the exodus. That is a way of thinking that is profoundly influential in African American culture and religion.

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