In the Sixth Party System? I’d say if Christians were to have served any purpose to the Sixth Party System, like everyone else they would have had to corrupt themselves either to the right or to the left, to play the Pharisee or the harlot. For one to have remained true to the Christian faith would have been to have marginalized oneself from power. Like, maybe, isolated incidents of good works may have been possible, but they would have been isolated, prevented from having any influence. But hey, that’s the Sixth Party System. Who knows what good could possibly be achieved in the Seventh! Amidst the forecasted chaos, for all I know, there could be real opportunities.
But perhaps your question could more satisfactorily be answered by looking at the waves of religious awakenings, rather than party systems. Within the periods I discussed, the Second Great Awakening and Third Great Awakening played major roles in American politics, with many positive contributions to boast of. There has not been a consensus Fourth Great Awakening to speak of. I think we’ve been living through it, but we’ve had trouble recognizing it as such, because this time it isn’t Christian.
Thank you for this incredible series! I really enjoyed reading, albeit slowly and perhaps with limited comprehension.
There is so much to take in here and digest, thank you for a very insightful story of American politics.
I wonder if you could comment more on American Christianity and it’s role in the story, specifically in the sixth party?
In the Sixth Party System? I’d say if Christians were to have served any purpose to the Sixth Party System, like everyone else they would have had to corrupt themselves either to the right or to the left, to play the Pharisee or the harlot. For one to have remained true to the Christian faith would have been to have marginalized oneself from power. Like, maybe, isolated incidents of good works may have been possible, but they would have been isolated, prevented from having any influence. But hey, that’s the Sixth Party System. Who knows what good could possibly be achieved in the Seventh! Amidst the forecasted chaos, for all I know, there could be real opportunities.
But perhaps your question could more satisfactorily be answered by looking at the waves of religious awakenings, rather than party systems. Within the periods I discussed, the Second Great Awakening and Third Great Awakening played major roles in American politics, with many positive contributions to boast of. There has not been a consensus Fourth Great Awakening to speak of. I think we’ve been living through it, but we’ve had trouble recognizing it as such, because this time it isn’t Christian.
It's been a fascinating commentary, Cormac. I'll certainly be keeping your assessments in mind in the coming months.
Thank you dearly, friend