Delight Makers - Anglo-American Metaphysical Religion and the Pursuit of Happiness

"An ambitious history of desire in American religion across over three centuries. The pursuit of happiness weaves disparate strands of American religious history together. In The Delight Makers, Catherine L. Albanese unravels a theology of desire tying Jonathan Edwards to Ralph Waldo Emerson to the religiously unaffiliated today. As others emphasize redemptive suffering, this tradition stresses the "metaphysical" connection between natural beauty and spiritual fulfillment. In the earth's abundance, these thinkers see an expansive God intent on fulfilling human desire through prosperity, health, and sexual freedom. Through careful readings of Cotton Mather, Andrew Jackson Davis, William James, Esther Hicks, and more, Albanese reveals how a theology of delight evolved alongside political overtures to natural law and individual liberty in the United States"--

About the author

Catherine L. Albanese is J. F. Rowny Distinguished Professor Emerita in Comparative Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is the author of numerous books, including A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion.

Product details

• Authors: Catherine L. Albanese, Albanese Catherine L.
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.01.2023
• EAN: 9780226823546
• ISBN: 978-0-226-82354-6
• No. of pages: 384
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; RELIGION / History, PHILOSOPHY / Metaphysics, RELIGION / Christianity / General, Religion & beliefs, Religion and beliefs