New Sacred Writing and Charisma

The Transformation of Religious Authority in Nineteenth-Century America

By (author) Claudia Jetter

Book cover: New Sacred Writing and Charisma

Extent: 422 pages

Publisher: V&R unipress

Subjects: American Studies, Nineteenth-Century Studies, Religious Studies

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(March 2025)

ISBN: 9783847115014

6.3 x 9.33 inches

Price: $69.00

In stock

Claudia Jetter attempts to collect a shared set of motifs and practices that these modern prophets employed to establish new carriers of religious authority. She thereby discusses “legitimate religious authority” and the dynamic ascription processes between a charismatic leader and an interactive, supportive social community in the actual historical context of nineteenth-century America.


Mid-nineteenth century America was filled with charismatic leaders and visionaries who produced new sacred writing. This book traces the stories of Mormon founder Joseph Smith Jr., Methodist revivalist Phoebe Palmer and Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson and their new text productions to investigate a diverse community that grappled with a perceived loss of religious authority. It attempts to collect a shared set of motifs and practices that these modern prophets employed to establish new carriers of religious authority. Claudia Jetter thereby discusses “legitimate religious authority” and the dynamic ascription processes between a charismatic leader and an interactive, supportive social community in the actual historical context of nineteenth-century America.

  • By (author) Claudia Jetter