Sean Bala reviewed The Viper on the Hearth by Terryl Givens
Review of 'The viper on the hearth' on 'Goodreads'
4 étoiles
"The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy" by Terryl Givens is a classic text in Latter-day Saints studies specifically and American religion generally. It is immensely fascinating for anyone interested in religion in American life, about the way religions interact, and the influence of literature on a society. Meticulously research and argued, the book is divided into two parts. Part 1 looks at the ferocity of anti-Mormon activism in the 19th century. According to Givens, Mormonism was especially targeted by American society for critique and violence. The community was forced to move nearly half a dozen times, had extermination orders issued against them, had their land and property seized, and even had their prophet killed by a mob. Givens argues that we need to take the possibility of theological disagreement between Mormonism and the wider Protestant society seriously. The fierceness of the conflict in the …
"The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy" by Terryl Givens is a classic text in Latter-day Saints studies specifically and American religion generally. It is immensely fascinating for anyone interested in religion in American life, about the way religions interact, and the influence of literature on a society. Meticulously research and argued, the book is divided into two parts. Part 1 looks at the ferocity of anti-Mormon activism in the 19th century. According to Givens, Mormonism was especially targeted by American society for critique and violence. The community was forced to move nearly half a dozen times, had extermination orders issued against them, had their land and property seized, and even had their prophet killed by a mob. Givens argues that we need to take the possibility of theological disagreement between Mormonism and the wider Protestant society seriously. The fierceness of the conflict in the 19th century occurred because Mormonism enacted the story of Early Christianity and, in doing so raised questions about the veracity of the mainstream Christian story. It also made real theological claims that set it apart from the rest of the Christian world. In short, they were "heretics." I find this argument compelling because I think it corrects a trend in much scholarship to downplay theological conflicts between religions and pointing to more "legitimate" sources of conflict. For followers of a religion, the religious claims are real and they are important and to downplay them shows a bias from a more secular academy.
Part Two explores the breadth of anti-Mormon literature in the 19th and 20th century to show how this heresy was articulated. Givens places the proliferation of anti-Mormon literature into the context of a broader literary flourishing. He argues that the Latter-day Saints essentially filled certain stock roles in popular literature. This process allowed American society to "other" a group that by all outward appearances appeared normal. What is most interesting is how this literature had an impact on political and religious rhetoric, with members of the US Congress picking up salacious claims from novels to justify attacks against the Latter-day Saints. I enjoyed this study immensely. I think is is essential read for any scholars of American religion and anyone interested in religion and literature generally.