Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2004

Abstract

In 1810, Theophilus Parsons, the Federalist chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, argued that the state need not recognize voluntary churches, calling the idea "too absurd to be admitted." In contrast, the modern idea of civil society is premised on the right of individual citizens to associate and for their institutions to gain the legal privileges connected with incorporation.' Federalists did not share this idea. They believed that in a republic the people's interests and the state's interests were the same, since voters elected their own rulers. Private groups threatened the Federalists' vision by dividing the population. The freedom of association was not considered a right, but a privilege extended to certain institutions that served the common good.

Publication Title

Journal of the Early Republic

Volume

24

Issue

3

First Page

381

Last Page

417

Required Publisher's Statement

© 2004, University of Pennsylvania Press. Neem, Johann, "The Elusive Common Good: Religion and Civil Society in Massachusetts, 1780-1833." Journal of the Early Republic, 24.3 (2004): 381-417.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of scholarly citation, none of this work may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. For information address the University of Pennsylvania Press, 3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112.

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Church and state--Massachusetts--History--19th century; Religion and sociology; Religion and politics

Geographic Coverage

Massachusetts--History; Massachusetts--Religion--19th century

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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