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Learning Church: Catechisms And Lay Participation In Early New England Congregationalism, Roberto O. Flores De Apodaca

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes catechisms and catechizing in New England religious culture from 1628-1662. These question and answer documents were intended for comprehensive religious instruction of both children and adults, and thus provide a direct window into the worldview of New England laity. In the hands of ordinary men and women, catechisms became a profound tool of religious and ecclesiastical empowerment. This thesis argues that catechisms held an indispensable role in equipping early New England men and women to participate in the government and rituals of their nascent Congregational churches. Ministers wrote catechisms to equip laity for their responsibilities of structuring …