That Religion in Which All Men Agree: Freemasonry in American Culture - Hardcover

Hackett, David G.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520281675 ISBN 13: 9780520281677

Publisher: University of California Press, 2014

Synopsis

This study weaves the story of Freemasonry into the narrative of American religious history. Freighted with the mythical legacies of stonemasons' guilds and the Newtonian revolution, English Freemasonry came to colonial America with a vast array of cultural baggage, which was drawn on, added to, and transformed in different ways in its sojourn through American culture. David Hackett argues that from the 1730s through the early twentieth century the religious worlds of an evolving American social order broadly appropriated the changing beliefs and initiatory practices of this all-male society. For much of American history, Freemasonry was a counter and complement to Protestant churches and a forum for collective action among racial and ethnic groups outside the European American Protestant mainstream. Moreover, to differing degrees and at different times, the cultural template of Freemasonry gave shape and content to the American "public sphere." By expanding and complicating the terrain of American religious history to include a group not usually seen to be a carrier of religious beliefs and rituals, That Religion in Which All Men Agree shows how Freemasonry's American history contributes to a broader understanding of the multiple influences that have shaped religion in American culture.

About this title

Review:

"Not only engaging, but also adds significantly to our understanding of Prince Hall Masonry and the African American Church, Freemasonry and Native Americans, and Jews and Catholics."--Clyde R. Forsberg, Jr."American Historical Review" (06/01/2015)

"A scholarly work, it is easily read but fully documented with an exhaustive index, huge bibliography, and complete footnotes. Don't miss this one for sure!"-- (04/23/2014)

"A vital contribution to understanding the development of religious liberty in the foundation of the US."--CHOICE (08/01/2014)

"This study of "Freemasonry in American Culture" offers a new perspective on the evolution of American society over more than two centuries. With its impeccable historical scholarship, the volume provides an important insight into the public sphere and an alternative to Habermas's assumptions about the inherent secularity of public culture with the rise of bourgeois society."-- (12/01/2014)

"The book is particularly strong in its careful attention to historical self-understanding, myth and narrative, historical symbolism, and temporality. Future research on Freemasonry will benefit greatly from it."-- (05/12/2015)

"This is a fine study. Extensive in scope and lucidly written . . . Breaks new ground."-- (06/28/2015)

About the Author:

David G. Hackett teaches American religious history at the University of Florida.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0520281675
• ISBN 13: 9780520281677
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 322