"The democratization of Christianity, then, has less to do with the specifics of polity and governance and more with the very incarnation of the church into popular culture...By redefining leadership itself, these movements were instrumental in shattering the centuries-old affinity between Christianity and the norms of high culture. They reconstructed the foundations of religion fully in keeping with the values and priorities of ordinary people" (Hatch 97).
To me, this means that one of the most important parts of the democratization of Christianity is that it took away the "hierarchy" that prevailed over all of Christianity. In my microeconomics class, we've talked about the idea of civil society. Where everyone works together to achieve an equal purpose. This is kind of what people during this time period were doing -- there was a "civil society" of religious people. They were all equal, all trying to become more religious, but all the while understanding that everyone was (is) equal in God's eyes. Ordinary people were able to feel like that had a part in their religion; they had a choice -- to be as devoted to God as they wanted to be.
Steph,
ReplyDeleteThis is right on. Civil society is at the heart of our concerns. And yet, I don't want to forget that Hatch points to the somewhat rigid and hierarchical structures of the Methodists and Mormons. A puzzle.
LDL