Selling the "Necessaries of Life": Alexander Campbell and Consumerist Christianity in the Early Republic.
As much as anything else, the history of Christianity in the early American Republic was about business. Scholars of religion frequently sideline the economic aspects of Christianity, concentrating instead on activities deemed strictly "religious." Conversely, economic historians have often reinforc...
| Publicado en: | Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 215 - 244 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of Pennsylvania Press
Spring2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=184725363&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 184725363 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 15434273 00N jtl: Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal issn: 15434273 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Spring2025 vid: 23 iid: 2 pid: 4636 pub: University of Pennsylvania Press artinfo: ui: 184725363 10.1353/eam.2025.a958898 ppf: 215 ppct: 29 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 445KB tig: atl: Selling the "Necessaries of Life": Alexander Campbell and Consumerist Christianity in the Early Republic. aug: au: Dupey, James affil: Arizona State University su: Primitive & early church, ca. 30-600 Church history Bible United States history Clergy Historians Hymnals sug: subj: Primitive & early church, ca. 30-600 Church history Bible United States history Clergy Historians Hymnals keyword: Alexander Campbell Baptist Business Capitalism Christianity Consumerism Debate Democracy Hymnbook Magazine Millennial Harbinger Presbyterian Printing Religion ab: As much as anything else, the history of Christianity in the early American Republic was about business. Scholars of religion frequently sideline the economic aspects of Christianity, concentrating instead on activities deemed strictly "religious." Conversely, economic historians have often reinforced capitalist ideology by assuming that markets functioned as they ideally should, overlooking the disorder and unpredictability of real life. This article aims to avoid these common oversights, exploring the intertwined nature of Christianity and business in early American history. Through the case of Alexander Campbell—a preacher who also became a printer, publisher, and entrepreneur—this study highlights the essential role of business practices in nineteenth-century Christianity. In an increasingly consumer-driven society, Campbell's publications, including his magazine, Bible, and hymnbook, functioned as commodities, as instruments of commercialization, and as authentic theological expressions. His business practices and a consumer-oriented theology helped him amass both a vast religious following and considerable wealth. And as was the case in other industries, Campbell's success shaped the contours of American life. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal is the property of University of Pennsylvania Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal holder: University of Pennsylvania Press dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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