Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America

By Patricia U. Bonomi

Book Overview

In this pathbreaking study, colonial historian Patricia Bonomi argues that religion was as instrumental as either politics or the economy in shaping early American life and values. Looking at the middle and southern colonies as well as at Puritan New England, Bonomi finds an abundance of religious vitality throughout the colonial years among clergy and churchgoers of diverse religious backgrounds. The book focuses on 18th-century religious activity, when churches stabilized and extended their influence to all parts of the colonies, and examines the everyday life of the clergy, the tension between religious competition and religious toleration, and the attitudes and practices of churchgoers from every rank and region. The book also explores the tightening relationship between religion and politics--especially evident in the schisms of the Great Awakening, the growth of denominational factions, and the emergence of an "ideology of dissent"--and illuminates the vital role religion played in the American Revolution. Written with grace and style, Under the Cope of Heaven presents a stimulating new perspective on the formative era of American religious culture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195054172
• ISBN13: 9780195054170
• Release Date: December 1988
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Great Book

This book is very informative about religion and politics in the colonial period of United States history, up to the Revolution. It is very in-depth and contains citations for everything.

Excellent Work on Religion in Colonial America

Bonomi, a former student of the late Richard Hostadter, provides a detailed account of religious life, toleration and coflict in America. Her work begins by providing an overview of religious life in the colonies, followed by a study of religious toleration, which sher argues was granted begrudgingly as an expedient to promote immigration, and she concludes with an excellent section on the Great Awaening and the way in which it contributed to the America Revolution. A must read for people who require an overlook of this subject in this period.

Under the Cope of Heaven is Illuminating

A provocative and insightful collection of material not readily found in other sources. A must for understanding the revolutionary era as well as for connecting the dots to 2005. Desia