Protestant Nations Redefined : : Changing Perceptions of National Identity in the Rhetoric of the English, Dutch and Swedish Public Churches, 1685-1772 / / Pasi Ihalainen.

• Superior document: Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions ; 109
• VerfasserIn: Ihalainen, Pasi,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden; , Boston : : BRILL,, 2005.
• Year of Publication: 2005
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions ; 109.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

This volume reconstructs the various meanings attached to the concepts of nation and fatherland in eighteenth-century English, Dutch and Swedish political preaching. After discussing sermons as a medium of national ideology, it analyses the decline of the Israelite prototype of nation, the changing relationship between religious and national communities, international Protestantism, the weakening stereotype of popery, redefinitions of the Protestant monarchy, and the diversification of national vocabulary. It also compares the rise of non-theological languages of classical patriotism, freedom, economy and nature in three political cultures, revealing how the secular worship of nation arose even within the public presentation of religion. As post-nationalist comparative history, this study will be welcomed by readers with varied national and scholarly backgrounds interested in the Enlightenment and nationalism.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements -- A Note on References, Dates and Quotations -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1. State Sermons as a Medium of Official Political Ideology -- 2. Israelite Parallels in the Language of Nation -- 3. Interaction Between the Concepts of Nation and Protestantism -- 4. International Protestantism and the Limits of the Nation -- 5. The Stereotype of Popery in Constructions of the National Community -- 6. Interaction Between the Concepts of Nation and Protestant Prince -- 7. Definitions and Redefinitions of the Nation and Fatherland -- 8. The Rise of Classical Patriotism in the Language of Nation -- 9. Associations Between Freedom and Protestantism in the Language of Nation -- 10. The Rise of a Commercial Nation -- 11. The Language of Nature in Protestant State Sermons -- Conclusion -- Appendix: 'National' as an attribute in state sermons preached in the presence of the highest English/British authorities on national anniversaries, 1685-1772 -- Bibliography -- Index of Names -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Places.