"Frequent Self-Examination Is the Duty of All": Practical Religion, Moral Improvement, and Transatlantic Protestantism

Abstract

Abstract: Practicing Protestants sought moral perfection through innovative means of self-development during the eighteen and early nineteenth centuries. The philosophical, cultural and religious changes that emerged from the Protestant Reformation and Enlightenment influenced transatlantic Protestantism. Evangelical religion and new sectarian groups appeared simultaneously and dialectically to the emergence of liberal thought, democratic politics and scientific advancement. The high-level musings of prominent philosophers of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe trickled down to common practitioners, who engaged in new patterns of religiosity. Through spiritual performances, habitual methods, and regimented schedules, Protestants customized their individual programs for moral progress and spiritual enlightenment. Pictorial and published works served as devices to evoke, maintain and advance their faith through reading, prayer, meditation, and diet. Recording their activities and assessing their successes and failures, the individual plans detailed here were part of a continuum of spirituality and rationality to perform piety on one's own terms and for the benefit of others. These Protestants combined Christian concepts with Enlightenment ideals to pursue autonomous, aspirational, and tailored approaches to self-discipline and spiritual insight.