Concept Vocabulary
ELIZABETH: First let me begin by saying my husband would have me incarcerated here because I do not believe in his Old School Calvinist teachings. As the scales of bigotry have fallen from my eyes I have found a great deal of truth and wisdom in other faiths, gentlemen—the Methodists, the Universalists, and even—
Elizabeth Packard’s beliefs about religion, freedom and the rights of women were informed by the unusually rich education she received at her father’s insistence and by religious and intellectual traditions she encountered in her own studies. Several of the ideas and people who influenced her life and convictions are defined below.
Calvinism
Calvinism is a branch of the Protestant tradition begun in the sixteenth century by John Calvin (1509-1564), a French exile living in Geneva. Calvinism spread throughout Europe, taking firm hold in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, where it became especially prevalent in England and Scotland. One of Calvinism’s central tenets is the essential sinfulness of human nature. Another is predestination, the idea that salvation is not achieved through good works on Earth but instead is unalterably determined by God before birth. During Mrs. Packard’s time a major split occurred in Calvinism, causing many old school calvinists to respond with increased religious ferver.
Methodism
Methodism originated in the eighteenth century in Great Britain as a Protestant tradition which emphasized a methodical approach to bible study and to Christian living. It crossed the Atlantic to America with lay preachers from Britain in the 1760s. In Mrs. Packard’s day, America was experiencing the first stirrings of the Third Great Awakening, a movement named for the “awakening” of religious fervor across the country. During this time, the Methodist church was one of many which enjoyed a sharp increase in membership. One major difference between Methodism and Calvinism is the Methodist belief in free will rather than predestination. Another is the importance Methodists place on reason in interpreting the Scriptures, evaluating personal behavior and understanding God’s designs.
Universalism
Universalism is yet another division of Protestantism. The variety of Universalism that interested Elizabeth Packard emphasized the idea that all humans can be saved from eternal damnation.
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a religious movement based on the idea that the living can communicate with the spirits of the dead through special people known as mediums. This movement was especially popular in the United States in the 1840s through 1860s, and appealed to many women for the opportunities it offered them to serve as respected mediums. Lectures on spiritualism were among the first that American women gave for audiences comprised of both men and women.
Swedenborgianism
Swedenborgianism refers to the teachings of Swedish scholar Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), who described the spirit world as a series of spheres or levels through which the spirit passes. Like proponents of Spiritualism, Swedenborg believed in communication between spirits and humans, although he taught that spirits served to intercede specifically between humans and God.
Holy Trinity
The exact configuration of the Holy Trinity is among the central distinctions between many branches of Christianity. In Calvinism, the Trinity is composed of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, which in the 19th century was generally conceived of as a male spirit. Elizabeth Packard argued for an understanding of the Trinity in which the Holy Ghost is female. While far from common, this interpretation was, in fact, rooted in ancient theology.
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a political movement which seeks to end slavery and the slave trade around the world. In America, many of those who contributed to the women’s rights movement in the second half of the nineteenth century began their activist careers as abolitionists.
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was a nineteenth-century Congregationalist clergyman, an abolitionist and social reformer from a family of well-known activists. One of his sisters, Harriet Beecher Stowe, was the author of the prophetic and incendiary Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). His father, Lyman Beecher, was another famed Congregationalist minister who preached that while fate was preordained by God, men and women could work to achieve social and moral reform in their communities. In addition to abolition, Henry Ward Beecher advocated for causes including women’s suffrage, temperance and Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley (1811-1872) was the editor of the New York Tribune, one of the major newspapers of the nineteenth century. Greeley used the Tribune to advance the political causes of the Whig and Republican parties, as well as the growing campaign to end slavery.
Queen Esther
Queen Esther was a biblical woman who became the beloved wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia. On the counsel of her cousin Mordecai, who raised her, she kept her Jewish identity a secret from the King, as Jews were a minority in that land. When the King’s prime minister Haman announced plans to slaughter the Jews to punish what he perceived as Mordecai’s insolence toward him, Mordecai begged Esther to reveal herself and appeal to the King on their behalf. Although she risked her life to do so, she agreed, using her wits and her feminine charm to win Ahasuerus to her side. Because of the King’s love for Esther, he spared the Jewish people and hanged Haman on the very gallows he’d had built for Mordecai.
