Revivalism, Utopianism, And The Kingdom Of Matthias
Abbey Martin
11/18/14
Revivalism, Utopianism, and the Kingdom of Matthias Revivals and utopias in the 19th and 20th centuries had enormous impact on the religious lives of American people. Revivalism and Utopianism stirred up the spiritual landscape and led to people questioning what they believed and how they believed it. Ultimately, revivalism and utopianism in this period of time produced radical thinking in regards to stereotypical gender roles and women in power as well as the integration of different races, but it perpetuated the conventional thinking that money and power are directly linked. In the early 1800’s the Finneyite revivals introduced the idea of women having just as much authority as men, or egalitarianism. The Finneyites …show more content…
As a female preacher in the 1920’s and 1930’s, McPherson’s male counterparts significantly outnumbered her. At this time especially, having a female preacher was extremely non-traditional and at times controversial. However, because of this McPherson became an international celebrity whose message got across to thousands of people. Her presence in the world of religion re-shaped the power dynamic and made the idea of female preachers become less of a radical thought and more of an accepted reality. Men weren’t removed from power, but they were definitely challenged by McPherson who pushed the boundaries and showed that women can have religious authority and that their roles can extend beyond domestic …show more content…
Although his commune and church were 85% black, Divine made it a priority to have racial equality. Initially, he pushed this idea by moving to Sayville, NY, a very white affluent community, with his followers and they began gardening and doing other work for their white neighbors. Soon, they developed a reputation for being hard workers and were more accepted and appreciated by the community. He continued to make change by having his commune set up across the river from Franklin Delano Roosevelt and then by opening up businesses among his white neighbors. It was a radical idea in 1912, when he began his mission for whites and blacks to be together, but Father Divine managed to make it work and create impactful and powerful change simply by exposing white people to other races and creating a positive reputation for the work that the Peace Mission Movement was doing. This shifted the power dynamic and allowed for blacks to have slightly more say in their community since they were such active and involved
11/18/14
Revivalism, Utopianism, and the Kingdom of Matthias Revivals and utopias in the 19th and 20th centuries had enormous impact on the religious lives of American people. Revivalism and Utopianism stirred up the spiritual landscape and led to people questioning what they believed and how they believed it. Ultimately, revivalism and utopianism in this period of time produced radical thinking in regards to stereotypical gender roles and women in power as well as the integration of different races, but it perpetuated the conventional thinking that money and power are directly linked. In the early 1800’s the Finneyite revivals introduced the idea of women having just as much authority as men, or egalitarianism. The Finneyites …show more content…
As a female preacher in the 1920’s and 1930’s, McPherson’s male counterparts significantly outnumbered her. At this time especially, having a female preacher was extremely non-traditional and at times controversial. However, because of this McPherson became an international celebrity whose message got across to thousands of people. Her presence in the world of religion re-shaped the power dynamic and made the idea of female preachers become less of a radical thought and more of an accepted reality. Men weren’t removed from power, but they were definitely challenged by McPherson who pushed the boundaries and showed that women can have religious authority and that their roles can extend beyond domestic …show more content…
Although his commune and church were 85% black, Divine made it a priority to have racial equality. Initially, he pushed this idea by moving to Sayville, NY, a very white affluent community, with his followers and they began gardening and doing other work for their white neighbors. Soon, they developed a reputation for being hard workers and were more accepted and appreciated by the community. He continued to make change by having his commune set up across the river from Franklin Delano Roosevelt and then by opening up businesses among his white neighbors. It was a radical idea in 1912, when he began his mission for whites and blacks to be together, but Father Divine managed to make it work and create impactful and powerful change simply by exposing white people to other races and creating a positive reputation for the work that the Peace Mission Movement was doing. This shifted the power dynamic and allowed for blacks to have slightly more say in their community since they were such active and involved