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Palgrave Macmillan

Lay Empowerment and the Development of Puritanism

  • Book
  • © 2015

Overview

Authors:
  1. Francis J. Bremer

    1. Millersville University, USA

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Part of the book series: Christianities in the Trans-Atlantic World (CTAW)

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
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  2. Introduction

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 1-4

  3. The Experience and Meaning of God’s Caress

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 5-9

  4. Thinking of the Laity in the English Reformation

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 10-26

  5. Lay Puritans in Stuart England

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 27-48

  6. Gatherings of the Saints in England and the Netherlands

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 49-68

  7. Shaping the New England Way

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 69-86

  8. The Free Grace Controversy and Redefining the Role of Lay Believers

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 87-104

  9. The Role of the Laity in England’s Puritan Revolution

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 105-126

  10. Varieties of Lay Enthusiasm in New England and England

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 127-143

  11. Responding to the Challenges of Diversity, 1640–60

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 144-156

  12. Clergy and Laity in the Later Seventeenth Century

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 157-176

  13. Epilogue: Looking Backwards, and Ahead

    • Francis J. Bremer
    Pages 177-181

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 182-239
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Keywords

About this book

A study of the rise and decline of puritanism in England and New England that focuses on the role of godly men and women. It explores the role of family devotions, lay conferences, prophesying and other means by which the laity influenced puritan belief and practice, and the efforts of the clergy to reduce lay power in the seventeenth century.

Reviews

“This is an impressive book, which synthesises a wide variety of scholarship into a highly readable tome. … This book serves as a valuable reminder that one of the biggest mistakes one can make when studying Puritanism in a local context is to view the phenomenon in isolation.” (James Mawdesley, Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire, Vol. 168, 2019)

“This book’s spatial and temporal framework make it especially illuminating. Bremer is not the first historian to situate Puritanism in its transatlantic context, but he renders that context more useful by making it multidirectional.” (Shelby M. Balik, Journal of American History, Vol. 103 (1), June, 2016)

“Lay Empowerment, while drawing on some primary source material, predominantly assembles existing research in a useful newframework that emphasizes how central the laity were to the development of puritanism. … the study as a whole offers a valuable account of the lay contribution to puritanism’s coherence and dynamism across its diverse manifestations.” (Kate Narveson, American Historical Review, Vol. 121 (3), June, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Millersville University, USA

    Francis J. Bremer

About the author

Francis J. Bremer is Professor Emeritus of History at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, USA. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University, the University of Cambridge, and Trinity College. He has authored and edited a total of sixteen other books on puritanism in the Atlantic world, including the prize-winning John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father (2003) and Building a New Jerusalem: John Davenport, a Puritan in Three Worlds (2012).

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