A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical ReligionThis original study of metaphysical religion is the little known history of a fascinating, unique form of American religion This path-breaking book tells the story of American metaphysical religion more fully than it has ever been told before, along the way significantly revising the panorama of American religious history. Catherine L. Albanese follows metaphysical traditions from Renaissance Europe to England and then America, where they have flourished from colonial days to the twenty-first century, blending often with African, Native American, and other cultural elements. The book follows evolving versions of metaphysical religion, including Freemasonry, early Mormonism, Universalism, and Transcendentalism—and such further incarnations as Spiritualism, Theosophy, New Thought, Christian Science, and reinvented versions of Asian ideas and practices. Continuing into the twentieth century and after, the book shows how the metaphysical mix has broadened to encompass UFO activity, channeling, and chakras in the New Age movement—and a much broader new spirituality in the present. In its own way, Albanese argues, American metaphysical religion has been as vigorous, persuasive, and influential as the evangelical tradition that is more often the focus of religious scholars’ attention. She makes the case that because of its combinative nature—its ability to incorporate differing beliefs and practices—metaphysical religion offers key insights into the history of all American religions. |
From inside the book
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... mysticism — which for Anglo - American Protestants was code for Catholicism , for abstract , impractical reasoning , and specifically for dogmatism with trappings of cultural naiveté and lack of proper criticism -this mysticism crept ...
... the American metaphysical tradition) posits a macrocosmic-microcosmic equiv- alence that is, in theoretical terms, mystical. Here metaphysicians have acknowl- edged the prior ( in some sense ) existence of Introduction 13.
... ( mystical ) rules for interaction between the spheres . Meanwhile , a series of folk traditions have brought their own implicit cosmology of correspondences existing in nature and in the human world , correspondences that can be found ...
... mystical and magical means ? The answer is practically everyone . It is , of course , tempting to link material magic ( spells , charms , talismans , and so forth ) to country traditions and middling - to - lower classes , and to ...
... mystical philosophy. (Modern versions include seventeen—the last three tractates translated in 1481 or 1482 by Lodovico Lazzarelli [1447–1500] and published initially as Diffinitiones Asclepii by Symphorien Champier in 1507.) 1 ...
Other editions - View all
A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical ... Catherine L. Albanese No preview available - 2007 |
A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical ... Catherine L. Albanese No preview available - 2007 |