Exploring Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy’s exotic Brand of Christianity. What makes Christian Science unique in the religious landscape of Christian America?
Exploring Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy’s exotic Brand of Christianity. What makes Christian Science unique in the religious landscape of Christian America?

Summary/Abstract: Born in the early XIX century on a farm in New England, Mary Baker Eddy, which will come to be known both a distinguished Christian scholar, and one of the few prominent female religious leaders from history, she will embark early-on on a quest for seeking the greater truth in regard to how faith and healing are interconnected, and how does a Christian need to act in order to benefit from their works. Christian Science aligns itself with the traditional tenets associated with Christianity, but it also introduced some novel ideas and practices that were rapidly enhanced by some, and were classed as heresy by others. Through her works, Ms. Baker Eddy tried to redefine the role of the Church, and of Christ Himself, in the physical wellbeing of the faithful, but in the same time she challenged century-old doctrines that emphasized more the role of the Church as a social disci-plinarian, rather than that of a force that will militate for the forgiveness of the sinners, and the reconciliation between former enemies. The current paper aims at analyzing the particularities of Christian Science, its ra-ther “exotic elements”, and the various controversies that arose from the claims that the practices popular-ized by the church were, in fact, rooted in science. As it is today, Christian Science is still holding own strongly to its original tenets, no major doctrinal reforms being made along the way. Unlike other American Christians, Christian Scientists tend to be overrepresented in urban settings, as indicated by the available data.

• Details
• Contents