Puritanismus und Pioniergeist: Die Faszination der wilderness als Herausforderung für den amerikanischen Protestantismus: Cotton Mathers „Magnalia Christi Americana“
One of the first works of history produced in the New England colony of Massachusetts was Cotton Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana (1702). In this work, fascination with the "wilderness" was contrasted with the specific ideals of the founding fathers. Mather attempted to come to ter...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | German |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
1994
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| In: |
Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte
Year: 1994, Volume: 7, Issue: 1, Pages: 44-58 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | One of the first works of history produced in the New England colony of Massachusetts was Cotton Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana (1702). In this work, fascination with the "wilderness" was contrasted with the specific ideals of the founding fathers. Mather attempted to come to terms with the consequences in the formation of the social, religious and psychic consciousness of the Puritan society. I seek to show how the traditional Protestant understanding of the faith was altered by this confrontation with the fact of the vast uncivilised regions of the American continent. The "wilderness" came to be used as a metaphor of nonconformist protest against Church and State, but also as an alluring image of demonic emptiness. In this metaphor we can find both the psychic anxiety about disaster, and a critique of outdated forms and rituals, but also the idea of the progressive character of formlessness. The changing use of this religious metaphor of the "wilderness" (or desert) can be seen as a parabolic mirror for the new, American, understanding of the individual's and society's destiny. |
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| ISSN: | 2196-808X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte
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