Religious melancholy and Protestant experience in America

By Julius H. Rubin

Book Description

This compelling exploration reveals a profound contradiction at the heart of American Protestant spirituality. Throughout centuries of evangelical history, the most devoted believers—those who surrendered themselves entirely to Christian living and yearned deeply for divine connection—frequently found themselves trapped in spiritual darkness rather than basking in God's love.

Julius Rubin uncovers how sincere seekers of religious transformation often descended into overwhelming despair, consumed by guilt and terror of eternal damnation. Some became convinced they had committed sins beyond forgiveness, while others developed extreme behaviors including religious fasting to the point of death and spiritual obsessions that bordered on psychological breakdown.

Drawing from intimate sources like personal diaries, spiritual autobiographies, and medical records from nineteenth-century mental institutions, this study traces religious melancholy from colonial Puritan figures to modern evangelical leaders. Rubin demonstrates how this spiritual affliction manifested as both a worldview and a genuine psychological condition, affecting those who most earnestly pursued rebirth and divine relationship.

The book examines various forms of this religious suffering, including what the author terms "evangelical anorexia nervosa" and cases of suicide driven by spiritual despair. Rather than dismissing these experiences, Rubin thoughtfully analyzes how religious melancholy has fundamentally shaped Protestant identity and self-understanding in America.

This scholarly yet accessible work offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to understand the complex relationship between intense spiritual devotion and psychological well-being.

Who Is This For?

📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~9 hours)

📄 Length: 308 pages

What You'll Discover

✓ Explore Church history
✓ Explore History
✓ Explore Religious aspects of Anorexia nervosa
✓ Explore Melancholie
✓ Explore Religiosität
✓ Explore Anorexia nervosa -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- History of doctrines
✓ Explore Anorexia nervosa -- United States -- Epidemiology
✓ Explore Protestanten

Topics Covered

Church history History Religious aspects of Anorexia nervosa Melancholie Religiosität Anorexia nervosa -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- History of doctrines Anorexia nervosa -- United States -- Epidemiology Protestanten Depression, Mental United states, church history Depressies (psychiatrie) History of doctrines Protestant churches -- United States -- History Epidemiology United States -- Church history Religious aspects of Mental depression Christianity Protestantismus Mental Depression Protestant churches Religious aspects Depression, Mental -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- History of doctrines Depression, Mental -- United States -- Epidemiology Anorexia nervosa