Serving Two Masters

About this book

"The eighteenth century was a time of significant change in the perception of marriage and family relations, the emphasis of reason over revelation, and the spread of political consciousness. The Unity of the Brethren, known in America as Moravians, experienced the resulting tensions firsthand as they organized their protective religious settlements in Germany. A group of the Brethren who later settled in Salem, North Carolina, experienced the stresses of cultural and generational conflict when its younger members came to think of themselves as Americans.". "Serving Two Masters traces the sense of alienation that grew between the American and European Brethren. While the group's leadership usually associated the Enlightenment with rebellion and religious skepticism, the younger Brethren were drawn to its message of individual autonomy and creative expression. Elisabeth Sommer looks at the impact of this generational and cultural change among Moravians on both sides of the Atlantic and examines the resulting debate over the definition of freedom and faith."--BOOK JACKET.