To Walk the Earth Again: The Politics of Resurrection in Early America

The belief in the resurrection of the dead had a significant impact on Anglo-American Protestant attitudes towards personal and religious identity, community, empire, progress, race, and the environment. Christopher Trigg's book "To Walk the Earth Again" explores the political dimension of this belief, examining texts written between the seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. He challenges the conventional scholarly assumption that Protestantism's rejection of purgatory prepared the way for the individualization and secularization of Western attitudes towards mortality. Puritans, Anglicans, Quakers, and radicals looked to resurrection to understand their communities' prospects in colonial America and shaped their positions on a wide range of issues, including the limits of ecclesiastical and civil power, the relationship of humanity to the natural world, and the emerging rhetoric of racial difference. Secular and Christian reformers also drew on the idea of resurrection to imagine how American republicanism might transform society and politics and ameliorate the human form itself.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 28 March 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

The profound belief held by Protestants, namely that believers would undergo a physical resurrection after death, had a profound impact on their attitudes towards various aspects of life. This belief shaped their personal and religious identities, fostered a sense of community, influenced their interactions with the empire, promoted progress, shaped their perceptions of race, and impacted their relationship with the environment. To delve into the political dimension of Anglo-American Protestant writing about the future resurrection of the dead, Christopher Trigg examines a selection of texts written between the seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. By juxtaposing histories, epic poetry, funeral sermons, and scientific tracts with works of eschatological exegesis, Trigg challenges the conventional scholarly notion that Protestantism's rejection of purgatory paved the way for the individualization and secularization of Western attitudes towards mortality.

Puritans, Anglicans, Quakers, and radicals, among others, sought to understand the prospects of their communities in the uncertain terrain of colonial America by turning to the concept of resurrection. They believed that their political identities and religious duties would not perish with their mortal bodies but would be carried over into the next life, shaping their stances on a wide range of issues. These issues included the boundaries of ecclesiastical and civil power, the relationship between humanity and the natural world, and the emerging rhetoric of racial difference.

During the early national and antebellum periods, secular and Christian reformers drew upon the idea of resurrection to envision how American republicanism could transform society and politics and improve the human condition. They saw resurrection as a means to address social injustices, promote equality, and cultivate a sense of civic virtue. By taking early modern Protestant beliefs seriously, Trigg offers fresh perspectives on their mutually constitutive visions of earthly and resurrected existence, shedding light on the complex interplay between religion, politics, and society in the early modern world.

Weight: 590g
Dimension: 162 x 243 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197652756