Chosen nations [electronic resource] : pursuit of the kingdom of God and its influence on democratic values in late nineteenth-century Britain and the United States / Christina L. Littlefield.

Issued as part of UPCC book collections on Project MUSE.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Acknowledgments -- The search for shared values -- Where, when, and who : the late-nineteenth-century mindset in Great Britain and the United States -- Chosen nations : Christianising the social order -- Religious liberty : cracks in the kingdom vision -- Social reform : pursuing the kingdom of god -- Political liberty and democracy : legislating the kingdom -- Civil religion, then and now -- Bibliography -- Index.

At the heart of the biblical myth of chosenness is the idea that God has blessed a people to be a blessing to others. It is a mission of solemn responsibility. The six British and American thinkers examined in this study embraced the myth of chosenness for their countries, believed that the liberties they enjoyed were inherently tied to their Protestant faith, and that it was their mission to protect and spread that faith, and its democratic fruit, at home and abroad. Each theologian in this study--Robert William Dale, Hugh Price Hughes, and Brooke Foss Westcott in England; Walter Rauschenbusch, Henry Codman Potter, and Josiah Strong in the United States--wanted, in Rauschenbusch's words, to "Christianize the social order," seeking to evolve their countries into true Christian nations that would lead to an international kingdom of God. They were all products of their time, yet ahead of their time, and their pursuit of a true, free, national Christianity helped support the development of Western democratic values. However, their belief in chosenness also fuelled imperialistic claims, neglected the rights of native peoples, led to anti-Catholicism, and hindered the religious liberties of others.

Description based on print version record.