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Fahler-Senior-Thesis-2008.pdf (1.33 MB)

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"Holding Up the Light of Heaven": Presbyterian and Congregational Reform Movements in Lorain County, Ohio, 1824-1859

Fahler, Joshua D
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1500555102981787

Abstract Details

2008, BS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History.
During the uneasy years predating the American Civil War, self-proclaimed prophets and messengers of God traveled the frontier proclaiming their interpretations of truth as revealed through Protestant Christianity. As they attempted to convert the nation, they conceived American utopias which, constructed within a sacred history of Christianity, played an important role in redefining the religion in North America. As part of the process of establishing these utopias, individuals interested in the conversion of society utilized and revised the “New Haven” theology of Yale College, from which would emerge a reconstructed concept of “sanctification” in Oberlin, Ohio. These individuals would use this theology to form the basis for their attempts to reform society, applying religious meaning to social action. In Lorain County, Ohio, we can observe these changes in religious thought and practice as numerous “religious virtuosi” carried out social action which they considered to be bound to a sacred history. In tandem with social action would come ecclesiastical conflict, tearing the New England Plan of Union asunder. This thesis is interested in how reformers’ attempts to create heaven on earth would result in conflict highlighted by a series of events which would ultimately change the religious landscape of the county as it contributed to and reflected the changing face of religion in America.
David Odell-Scott, PhD (Advisor)
Guy E. Wells, PhD (Advisor)
Leonne Hudson, PhD (Committee Member)
Leslie Heaphy, PhD (Committee Member)
192 p.
American History; History; Religious History
lorain county; ohio; church history; presbyterian; congregational; antebellum; reform; antislavery; oberlin college; oberlin; wellington; western reserve; plan of union; congregational association; church polity; temperance

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fahler, J. D. (2008). "Holding Up the Light of Heaven": Presbyterian and Congregational Reform Movements in Lorain County, Ohio, 1824-1859 [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1500555102981787

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fahler, Joshua. "Holding Up the Light of Heaven": Presbyterian and Congregational Reform Movements in Lorain County, Ohio, 1824-1859. 2008. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1500555102981787.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fahler, Joshua. ""Holding Up the Light of Heaven": Presbyterian and Congregational Reform Movements in Lorain County, Ohio, 1824-1859." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1500555102981787

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1500555102981787
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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12