New Sacred Writing and Charisma - The Transformation of Religious Authority in Nineteenth-Century America

Mid-nineteenth-century America was a vibrant period marked by charismatic leaders who produced new sacred writing. This book explores the lives and works of Mormon founder Joseph Smith Jr., Methodist revivalist Phoebe Palmer, and Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, focusing on how their textual productions contributed to a diverse discourse community grappling with a perceived loss of religious authority. It identifies shared motifs and practices these modern prophets employed to establish new carriers of religious authority. Claudia Jetter examines the concept of ‘religious authority,’ highlighting the dynamic ascription processes between charismatic leaders and interactive social communities within the historical context of nineteenth-century America.