The Reed Smoot Hearings; The Investigation of a Mormon Senator and the Transformation of an American Religion

The Christian church, including all its various branches, has been consistently susceptible to the forces that form or change cultures. Scholars claim that this adaptability has been extremely important in the rise and spread of the religion. In the American environment, Protestants formed voluntary associations that attracted people individually and by family groups. This environment actually shaped “denominations” even during the colonial period. One such denomination was the Presbyterians, who pioneered in the formation of a communion that existed as neither a “state church” nor a “dissenting” church body. As the United States experienced industrialization and growing complexity in economic and cultural patterns, the Protestant denominations were affected by those same forces. Thus, denominations naturally became what came to be termed “non-profit corporations,” subject to the limitations and problems of such organizations but also the beneficiaries of that system as well.

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From Spiritualism to Theosophy: “Uplifting” a Democratic Tradition

Religion and American Culture A Journal of Interpretation ◽

10.1525/rac.1993.3.2.03a00050 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 197-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen Prothero

Keyword(s):

Religious Movements ◽

New Religious Movements ◽

American Religion ◽

Religious Groups ◽

Democratic Tradition ◽

The Status ◽

Taboo Topics

The status reversal ritual that American religious historiography has undergone in the last two decades has done much to “mainstream” previously taboo topics within the field. Many religious groups once dismissed as odd and insignificant “cults” are now seen as “new religious movements” worthy of serious scrutiny. One subject that has benefited from this reversal of fortunes is theosophy. Thanks to the work of scholars such as Robert Ellwood and Carl Jackson, theosophists are now part of the story of American religion. Exactly what part they are to play in that story remains, however, unclear.

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Beautiful Babies, Hidden Mothers, and Plasticized Prisoners

Bulletin for the Study of Religion ◽

10.1558/bsor.v43i2.27 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 27-29

Author(s):

Amy Koehlinger

Keyword(s):

American Religion ◽

Theoretical Issues

This essay responds to the papers presented in the collection "Beautiful Babies, Hidden Mothers, and Plasticized Prisoners: The Display of Bodies and Theories of American Religion," addressing some of the theoretical issues that the papers raise.

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