Piety Versus Moralism

This book represents the history of the New England theology from 1750 to 1830, revealing a significant conflict of attitudes and ideals involved in the decline of orthodoxy and the rise of the modern spirit in religion. It follows the course of theological discussion from Jonathan Edwards to Nathaniel W. Taylor, in whom liberalism triumphed. It shows how and why historical Christianity became unpalatable and unreasonable to the cultured in New England, how a great spirit was lost with the passing of the Edwardean theology, and how a new Christianity appeared in the place of the old.

The author gives some clues to the source and nature of the weaknesses in present-day religious thought and makes a timely contribution to the launching of that reconstruction in Protestant theology, which is, admittedly, very much needed.

Joseph Haroutunian's 'Piety Versus Moralism 'presents a signal interpretation of developments in American Protestant theology from Jonathan Edwards to his successors in the early national period. As intellectual history, it stands as one of the most compelling analyses of a transition from Edwards's Augustinian piety to the rational moralism of his successors. As theological history, it offers an acute dissection of the challenges to a truly evangelical witness in the American context.

Mark Valeri
Union Theological Seminary in Virginia



""This is the most influential book ever written on the New England Theology, America's first indigenous school of Christian thought. I continue to disagree with Haroutunian's manner of speaking of the 'passing' of this theology, but all will be grateful to Wipf and Stock Publishers for this timely new edition of a truly classic piece of American scholarship.

Douglas A. Sweeney, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Joseph Haroutunian (1904-1968) was an American Presbyterian theologian known for his sharp mind and lively spirit. Haroutunian's Columbia University Ph.D. dissertation, supervised by Herbert W. Schneider, was published as 'Piety Versus Moralism. ' Haroutunian taught at Wellesley College, McCormick Theological Seminary, and the University of Chicago, where he was Professor of Systematic Theology.