Programs > Academic Programs

Academic Seminars

Ezra Stiles Ely and the
Transformation of Urban Evangelicalism

Kyle Roberts

Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at 4:30 p.m.
Elmarion Room, Goddard-Daniels House
190 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts

PRÉCIS: Social activism has long been considered a hallmark of evangelical religion. Evangelical activism made an indelible mark on antebellum New York City in the form of massive publishing houses, ships remade into mission chapels, and packed temperance and anti-slavery meetings. Such, however, was not always the case. Ezra Stiles Ely, a young minister who arrived in New York on the eve of the War of 1812, was dismayed by evangelical New Yorkers' tendency to avoid engagement with the wider city, and he set out to convince them of their responsibility to convert their neighbors. Ely used urban public institutions — the almshouse and the hospital — as cases to illustrate the problems of the modernizing city. In his published journals, Ely articulated a vision of and justification for a more engaged urban evangelicalism. At the same time, Ely.s personal experience revealed the opportunities and challenges that early national New York presented to urban evangelicals.

Refreshments will be provided after the paper, which will be followed by a dutch-treat dinner in Worcester. If you plan to attend, please notify Ann-Cathrine Rapp at AAS no later than Friday, February 29. You can either fax the form below to 508-754-9069, or email her at arapp@mwa.org or go to the calendar and electronic registration form.