“Nineteenth-century print culture shared with the Protestantism that sparked it a democratizing impulse rooted in the ideology of the priesthood of all believers. In the vastly expanded world of print this impulse led to what one might call a priesthood of all readers, a situation ripe for religious turmoil rooted in interpretive chaos.” ProtestantismPriesthood Of All BelieversBook Culture Book:The Rise of Liberal Religion: Book Culture and American Spirituality in the Twentieth Century Source: The Rise of Liberal Religion: Book Culture and American Spirituality in the Twentieth Century
“The tension between autonomy and expertise had been, at a basic level, fundamental to the Protestant experience itself from the Reformation forward, as the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, increasing literacy, and vernacular translations of the Bible undermined the clerical caste's monopoly on spiritual authority. In the twentieth-century United States, professional specialization, the Progressive emphasis on technical expertise, and simply the ever more complex nature of modern urban life pulled readers toward greater reliance on literary guidance, while the logic of consumerism, rooted in the all-powerful choice to buy or not to buy, further reinforced the notion of reader autonomy.” ChristianityProtestantismThe BiblePriesthood Of All BelieversThe ReformationClerical Authority Author:Matthew Hedstrom