The Rural Reformation: Introduction
The six essays in this collection explore the range of adaptations, responses, and possibilities for understanding confessional behavior in the small towns and hamlets of Europe and colonial America during the Reformation. The contributors begin with a discussion of the independence of rural communi...
| Subtitles: | The Rural Reformation |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Church history and religious culture
Year: 2025, Volume: 105, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 267-275 |
| Further subjects: | B
New Netherland
B Reformed B Massachusetts B Poland B Lutheran B France B Congregational |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The six essays in this collection explore the range of adaptations, responses, and possibilities for understanding confessional behavior in the small towns and hamlets of Europe and colonial America during the Reformation. The contributors begin with a discussion of the independence of rural communities of faith and the reality that financial support for these churches was often precarious. Congregants also proved adept at composing church orders that established and organized a lasting institutional framework. Books and other printed materials that circulated among the faithful suggest devotional inclinations. Distance between isolated rural churches and the lack of sufficient numbers of trained pastors enhanced the role of the laity who performed some functions previously reserved to the clergy. Finally, small rural congregations found ingenious way to integrate immigrants and newcomers into the assembly of worshipers. Altogether, these essays speak to the advantages and disadvantages of the more remote countryside for communities of belief. Rural isolation, whether in France, Poland, New Netherland, or New England bestowed benefits, all the while presenting challenges. |
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| ISSN: | 1871-2428 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Church history and religious culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/18712428-10503002 |
