Title The way of the cross leads home : the domestication of American Methodism / A. Gregory Schneider

Published Bloomington : Indiana University Press, ©1993

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Description 1 online resource (xxviii, 257 pages) Series Religion in North America Religion in North America. Contents Foreword / Catherine L. Albanese and Stephen J. Stein -- Introduction: The rise of Methodism and domesticity -- Patriarchy and the culture of honor -- Republicanism and reform -- Migration: persistence and change -- Experimental religion and the way of the cross -- The salvation machine and the subversion of patriarchy -- Discipline and the rhetoric of separation -- Fellowship and the rhetoric of testimony -- Methodist identity: the way of the cross versus the culture of honor -- The family of God -- Ritualizing families for God -- The Christian home in the republic -- Icons of holiness and instruments of morality: women in their sphere and beyond it -- The family of God gives ground to the salvation machine Summary "This richly detailed study of the rise of American Methodism and its social and cultural impact focuses on Methodist religious practice. Schneider shows how the forms of Methodist social religion laid the foundation for the adoption by many white middle-class Christians of an ideology of evangelical domesticity. Through practices such as class meetings and love feasts, Methodism cultivated a piety of self-sacrifice and strong individual moral agency. This individualistic piety thrived, nevertheless, in a deeply affectionate religious community understood as a family set against the world. This metaphorical family of God became the model for literal families in an ideology of the Christian home. Eventually the activities of the domestic circle superseded practices such as the class meeting as the preferred means to nurture Christian piety." "Schneider describes from within the piety that fueled the growth and spread of institutions, the enlargement of memberships, and the emergence of strong leaders. He describes how Methodism replaced a model of family based on the sovereignty of the patriarch with a model based on a sacred circle of affection, thus influencing the place of women in society. His book is a deeply rewarding analysis that connects the inner life of a major religious group to an important aspect of American culture."--Jacket Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 242-252) and index Notes English Print version record Subject Spirituality -- Methodist Church -- History -- 19th century Methodist Church -- United States -- History -- 19th century Methodist Church -- United States -- Membership Families -- United States. RELIGION -- Christianity -- Methodist. Spirituality -- Methodist Church Families Methodist Church Methodist Church -- Membership Religion Methodismus Religiöses Leben Methodisme. SUBJECT United States -- Religion -- 19th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140500 Subject United States USA Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 058510266X 9780585102665

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