Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaine

The development of deistical freethought, which appealed to a growing share of the American population at the turn of the nineteenth century, gradually became a matter of concern for the Protestant religious authorities that endeavored to counter its growth by targeting and incriminating it under th...

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Main Author: Auréliane Narvaez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Française d'Etudes Américaines 2022-12-01
Series:Transatlantica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/20159
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author Auréliane Narvaez
author_facet Auréliane Narvaez
author_sort Auréliane Narvaez
collection DOAJ
description The development of deistical freethought, which appealed to a growing share of the American population at the turn of the nineteenth century, gradually became a matter of concern for the Protestant religious authorities that endeavored to counter its growth by targeting and incriminating it under the umbrella term of religious “infidelity.” Led by actors of orthodox and evangelical Protestantism alike, this unprecedented attack on deism relied on the vindication of disciplinary, social, as well as sanitary norms. To what extent can Foucault’s concepts of governmentality and biopolitics be conducive to a better understanding of the characteristics and mechanisms of this anti-infidel controversy? These assaults on religious infidelity framed deism as a multifaceted peril disrupting the stability of the young Republic, ultimately forging a form of Protestant governmentality that sought to make the population internalize the rejection of religious skepticism. Undermining deism thus hinged on security and sanitary discourses that associated religious infidelity with anarchy, criminality, and even insanity. Conflating religious and sexual infidelity also contributed to the development of a biopolitics of femininity and womanhood that presented freethought and the critique of religion as synonymous with licentiousness and moral depravity.
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spelling doaj-art-7e8e56a1ecbb4764b4ec21ae662340672025-01-30T10:43:24ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662022-12-01210.4000/transatlantica.20159Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaineAuréliane NarvaezThe development of deistical freethought, which appealed to a growing share of the American population at the turn of the nineteenth century, gradually became a matter of concern for the Protestant religious authorities that endeavored to counter its growth by targeting and incriminating it under the umbrella term of religious “infidelity.” Led by actors of orthodox and evangelical Protestantism alike, this unprecedented attack on deism relied on the vindication of disciplinary, social, as well as sanitary norms. To what extent can Foucault’s concepts of governmentality and biopolitics be conducive to a better understanding of the characteristics and mechanisms of this anti-infidel controversy? These assaults on religious infidelity framed deism as a multifaceted peril disrupting the stability of the young Republic, ultimately forging a form of Protestant governmentality that sought to make the population internalize the rejection of religious skepticism. Undermining deism thus hinged on security and sanitary discourses that associated religious infidelity with anarchy, criminality, and even insanity. Conflating religious and sexual infidelity also contributed to the development of a biopolitics of femininity and womanhood that presented freethought and the critique of religion as synonymous with licentiousness and moral depravity.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/20159sexualitynineteenth centurybiopoliticsfreethoughtwomen’s rightsFoucault (Michel)
spellingShingle Auréliane Narvaez
Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaine
Transatlantica
sexuality
nineteenth century
biopolitics
freethought
women’s rights
Foucault (Michel)
title Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaine
title_full Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaine
title_fullStr Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaine
title_full_unstemmed Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaine
title_short Éclairages foucaldiens sur l’incrimination du déisme et de la libre pensée dans la jeune République américaine
title_sort eclairages foucaldiens sur l incrimination du deisme et de la libre pensee dans la jeune republique americaine
topic sexuality
nineteenth century
biopolitics
freethought
women’s rights
Foucault (Michel)
url https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/20159
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