New England theology
Encyclopedia
New England theology, in the technical sense of these words, designates a special school of theology which grew up among the Congregationalists of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

, originating in the year 1732, when Jonathan Edwards began his constructive theological work, culminating a little before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, declining afterwards, and rapidly disappearing after the year 1880.

During this period it had become the dominant school among Congregationalists, had led to division among Presbyterians, resulting in the creation of a new religious denomination
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...

, the New School Presbyterian (1838-69), had founded all the seminaries
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 of the Congregationalists and several of the Presbyterians, had furnished the vital forces from which had spring the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...

, had established a series of colleges from Amherst
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

 in the East to Pacific University
Pacific University
Pacific University is a private university located in Oregon, United States. The first campus began more than 160 years ago and is located about 38 km west of Portland in Forest Grove...

 in the West, and led in a great variety of practical efforts to extend the kingdom of Christ on earth.

It may be formally defined as the Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

 of the Westminster Assembly
Westminster Assembly
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was appointed by the Long Parliament to restructure the Church of England. It also included representatives of religious leaders from Scotland...

 and the Synod of Dort
Synod of Dort
The Synod of Dort was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618-1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on November 13, 1618, and the final meeting, the 154th, was on May 9, 1619...

 modified by a conception of God taken by its advocates to be more ethical; by a new emphasis upon the liberty, ability, and responsibility of man; by the restriction of moral quality to action in distinction from nature (cf. original sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...

 and total depravity
Total depravity
Total depravity is a theological doctrine that derives from the Augustinian concept of original sin...

); and by the theory that the constitutive principle of virtue
Virtue
Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....

 is benevolence.

The New England theology went through several stages, including the New Divinity
New Divinity
The New Divinity is a system of Christian theology that was very prominent in New England in the late 18th century...

 espoused by Samuel Hopkins and the New Haven theology espoused by Nathaniel W. Taylor.
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