Hope's Promise

Religion and Acculturation in the Southern Backcountry

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Hope's Promise by S. Scott Rohrer, University of Alabama Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: S. Scott Rohrer ISBN: 9780817387563
Publisher: University of Alabama Press Publication: May 31, 2014
Imprint: University Alabama Press Language: English
Author: S. Scott Rohrer
ISBN: 9780817387563
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Publication: May 31, 2014
Imprint: University Alabama Press
Language: English

This eloquent study describes the complex process of assimilation that occurred among multi-ethnic groups in Wachovia, the evangelical community that settled a 100,000-acre tract in Piedmont North Carolina from 1750 to 1860. It counters commonplace notions that evangelicalism was a divisive force in the antebellum South, demonstrating instead the ability of evangelical beliefs and practices to unify diverse peoples and foster shared cultural values.

In Hope's Promise, Scott Rohrer dissects the internal workings of the ecumenical Moravian movement at Wachovia—how this disparate group of pilgrims hailing from many countries (Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, England) and different denominations (Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Anglican) yielded their ethnicities as they became, above all, a people of faith. By examining the "open" farm congregations of Hope, Friedberg, and Friedland, Rohrer offers a sensitive portrayal of their evangelical life and the momentous cultural changes it wrought: the organization of tight-knit congregations bound by "heart religion;" the theology of the new birth; the shape of religious discipline; the sacrament of communion; and the role of music. Drawing on courthouse documents and church records, Rohrer carefully demonstrates how various groups began to take on traits of the others. He also illustrates how evangelical values propelled interaction with the outside world—at the meetinghouse and the frontier store, for example—and fostered even more collective and accelerated change.

As the Moravians became ever more "American" and "southern," the polyglot of ethnicities that was Wachovia would, under the unifying banner of evangelicalism, meld into one of the most sophisticated religious communities in early America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This eloquent study describes the complex process of assimilation that occurred among multi-ethnic groups in Wachovia, the evangelical community that settled a 100,000-acre tract in Piedmont North Carolina from 1750 to 1860. It counters commonplace notions that evangelicalism was a divisive force in the antebellum South, demonstrating instead the ability of evangelical beliefs and practices to unify diverse peoples and foster shared cultural values.

In Hope's Promise, Scott Rohrer dissects the internal workings of the ecumenical Moravian movement at Wachovia—how this disparate group of pilgrims hailing from many countries (Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, England) and different denominations (Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Anglican) yielded their ethnicities as they became, above all, a people of faith. By examining the "open" farm congregations of Hope, Friedberg, and Friedland, Rohrer offers a sensitive portrayal of their evangelical life and the momentous cultural changes it wrought: the organization of tight-knit congregations bound by "heart religion;" the theology of the new birth; the shape of religious discipline; the sacrament of communion; and the role of music. Drawing on courthouse documents and church records, Rohrer carefully demonstrates how various groups began to take on traits of the others. He also illustrates how evangelical values propelled interaction with the outside world—at the meetinghouse and the frontier store, for example—and fostered even more collective and accelerated change.

As the Moravians became ever more "American" and "southern," the polyglot of ethnicities that was Wachovia would, under the unifying banner of evangelicalism, meld into one of the most sophisticated religious communities in early America.

More books from University of Alabama Press

Cover of the book Of Caves and Shell Mounds by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Poor but Proud by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book British Women Writing Fiction by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book The Emperor Redressed by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Recovering the Margins of American Religious History by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book The American Counterfeit by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Patterson for Alabama by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Glory Hole by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Foraging in the Tennessee River Valley by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Subfloor Pits and the Archaeology of Slavery in Colonial Virginia by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book The Life of Andrew Jackson by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book A New Deal for Southeastern Archaeology by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Founding Fictions by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Feeding Cahokia by S. Scott Rohrer
Cover of the book Signs of Power by S. Scott Rohrer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy