A church apart : southern Moravianism and denominational identity, 1865-1903
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Benjamin Antes Peterson (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- William D. Moore
Abstract: Historians have long argued that the Moravian Church’s move to the mainstream of
Southern Protestantism resulted from the declination of their members’ German ethnicity during
the antebellum period. The redefinition of the Southern Moravian Church as a mainline Southern
Protestant denomination, in fact, came later than most scholars have previously suggested. The
Southern Moravian Church came of age after the Civil War when it metamorphosed from a
conservative ecumenical religious group dedicated to mission work to a full-fledged mainline
Southern Protestant denomination, whose members saw themselves and were perceived by
others as legitimate players in the Southern evangelical field. The change occurred over the final
35 years of the nineteenth century, which was relatively quickly given how little the church
changed during its initial one hundred years in the Southern United States.
This study explores the reasons for and ways in which the Southern Province of the
Moravian Church in America adapted to meet the needs of those to whom they ministered. This
study covers a broad swath of church activity in the nineteenth century, including political
schism and its consequences, the incorporation of revivals into church worship, the adoption of
denominational Sunday schools, changes in worship architecture, community outreach efforts,
and denominational publications.
This study fills a gap in the historiography between the colonial and antebellum church
and the modern Moravian Church, South. The Southern Moravian denomination today owes
much of its regional character, religious practices, organization, and traditions to the years
covered in this thesis.
A church apart : southern Moravianism and denominational identity, 1865-1903
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Created on 1/1/2009
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Moravian Church--Relations, Moravian Church in America--History--19th century, Moravian Church in America--History--18th century
- Subjects
- Moravian Church in America -- History -- 18th century
- Moravian Church in America -- History -- 19th century
- Moravian Church -- Relations