Skip to content
Csbibliography

Annotated Bibliography of Christian Science

Academic and Other Literature

  • Home
  • About
    • About the ABCS Project
    • Support Opportunities (Donate)
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Annotations
    • Search Information
    • Category Search
    • Keyword Search
    • Advanced Search
    • Standard Search
    • Authors/Editor List
    • Title List
    • Recently Added
    • Search Support
  • Resources
    • The Book
    • Online Resources
    • ABCS Blog
    • Suggest Resources
  • Contact
Annotation Resource

“Christian Science and American Popular Religion”

“Christian Science and American Popular Religion”

Moore, Laurence R. “Christian Science and American Popular Religion,” Pages 105–27 in Religious Outsiders and the Making of Americans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

Moore, a historian, places Mary Baker Eddy in her 19th-century social and religious context to examine why her movement was considered by many as ‘occult,’ and yet why so many sensible Americans flocked to Christian Science. Eddy’s controversial life story, the unparalleled claims she made, the secrecy of the lessons she taught, her non-traditional public roles and her obsession with ‘malicious animal magnetism’ all made her odd. Yet in other ways, Moore sees Eddy’s ideas and language, and the popularity of Christian Science, as typical of the Transcendentalism and mind cure trends of her day. She also embraced the familiar sacrificial, mothering, obedient female virtues. Moore sees outlier groups as “signals of cultural and social stress … [but also] providing ways for people to adjust their discontents” (126). “Christian Science (and the other outlier religious groups) grew as a perfectly ordinary manifestation of tensions that were always present in American society” (124). “Her Christian Science did not cure cancer …, but it cured many maladies that were a lot more common among American women and men” (127).

ISBN-10: 0195051882
ISBN-13 (Softcover): 978-0195051889
ISBN-13 (Hardcover): 978-0195036633

 

Moore, Laurence R.

Related Annotations:

Annotations related by category:
  • Availability: Online - Academic Credentials or Fee
  • Official Christian Science Publication: No
  • People: Eddy, Mary Baker
  • Publication Date: 1981-2000
  • Resource Types: Book Section
  • Subjects: Metaphysical
  • Subjects: Religion
  • Subjects: Social and Cultural Studies
Annotations related by keyword:
  • Animal Magnetism
  • Critical Analysis
  • Mind Cure
  • Transcendentalism
More by authors or editor(s):
  • Moore, Laurence R.

Comment on this resource: Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Home

Search application instructions and overview.

Search Support

Questions? We've got answers.

Category Search

Select subject, person, organization and/or controversy to provide a subset of annotation results. The results page includes the ability to further limit your search.

Keyword Search

Select one or more specific keywords to provide a subset of annotation results. The results page includes the ability to further limit your search.

Advanced Search

Select from all search options to obtain very specific results.

Standard Search

Might yield a mix of relevant and irrelevant results, but could be very helpful if you are looking for a specific term not included in any of the other types of searches.

Annotations by Author
Annotations by Title
Most Recent

View the 30 most recently added annotations.

New Since the Book

View new annotations available here that were not included in the book.

Suggest a Resource
Donate via PayPal

Scholarly Works on Christian Science is the nonprofit corporation that produces the ABCS website. We rely on donations to keep the bibliography updated and available to the public. If you find this site useful we hope you'll consider donating to support the work. Donate via PayPal by clicking the button above or send a check to:

Scholarly Works on Christian Science
420 Conway Meadows Drive
St. Louis, MO 63017

© 2022 and later by Scholarly Works on Christian Science, all rights reserved.

Privacy Policy is here. Cookie Policy is here. Comment Policy is here.

This material was printed from the Annotated Bibliography of Christian Science website produced and maintained by Scholarly Works on Christian Science (https://csbibliography.org). All rights reserved.