An ambitious history of desire in American religion across three centuries. The pursuit of happiness weaves disparate strands of American religious history together. In The Delight Makers, Catherine L. Albanese unravels a theology of desire tying Jonathan Edwards to Ralph Waldo Emerson to the religiously unaffiliated today. As others emphasize redemptive suffering, this tradition stresses the "metaphysical" connection between natural beauty and spiritual fulfillment. In the earth's abundance, these thinkers see an expansive God intent on fulfilling human desire through prosperity, health, and sexual freedom. Through careful readings of Cotton Mather, Andrew Jackson Davis, William James, Esther Hicks, and more, Albanese reveals how a theology of delight evolved alongside political overtures to natural law and individual liberty in the United States.

Book Information
ISBN 9780226823331
Author Catherine L. Albanese
Format Hardback
Page Count 384
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 152g