Mark Noll in his "History of Christianity in the United States and Canada" defines temperance as "liberation from the bondage of drink.” In several places he implies that the spread of religion in the 2nd Great Awakening is beneficial. He attributes this spread to successful missionary work, and the success of the Methodism in particular to it's spiritual accuracy. In general, Noll shows a bias towards religion.
Why do I associate a fear of alcohol with a religious attitude? Religions frequently include alcohol on their list of forbiddens. I may have been calling on my Puritan stereotype of portraying pleasures as sins, and thinking of my high school classmate whose Mormonism prevented her from watching R-rated movies.
Erik,
ReplyDeleteYes, Noll is a historian of religion who identifies with and participates in Christianity. That said, he is also accurate in describing how temperance advocates understood their cause. Their opposition to "drink" was not merely Puritan (in the stereotypically negative sense), but also expressed concerns for social well being of families along with less admirable nativism. Perhaps Noll has sparked your interest so that you will want to look into the Temperance/Prohibitionist movement in your first paper? LDL