Emerson among the Methodists

Abstract This essay examines the influence of Methodism on Emerson. During Emerson’s lifetime, Methodism exerted extraordinary influence on American religious life, yet he offered little comment on this important religious movement. In spite of this omission, this essay argues that Methodism shaped Emerson’s ideas about oratory, prayer, and self-determination. This essay examines two Methodist figures whom Emerson repeatedly cited as important influences: famed Methodist minister Edward Thompson Taylor and a less-remembered farm worker named Tarbox, whom Emerson met in his twenties and repeatedly mentioned in his journals. Emerson took inspiration from both men, but seems to have been unaware of the sectarian inflection of their influences; in adapting these men’s ideas in his own writings, Emerson repackaged Methodist theology as denominationally ecumenical and enabled Methodist belief to gain wide circulation among some of its most ardent critics. As a result, Emerson unwittingly became one of Methodism’s most effective champions.