Eugenics and Protestant social reform : hereditary science and religion in America, 1860-1940 / Dennis L. Durst.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Durst, Dennis L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Eugenics--United States--History.

Eugenics.

Religion and science.

History.

Eugenics--Moral and ethical aspects.

United States.

Sterilization (Birth control)--Religious aspects.

Sterilization (Birth control).

Medical ethics.

Social Darwinism.

Religion and science--History--19th century.

Religion and science--History--20th century.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xv, 201 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Eugene, Oregon : Pickwick Publications, [2017]

Summary:

The eugenics movement prior to the Second World War gave voice to the desire of many social reformers to promote good births and prevent bad births. Two sources of cultural authority in this period, science and religion, often found common cause in the promotion of eugenics. The rhetoric of biology and theology blended in strange ways through a common framework known as degeneration theory. Degeneration, a core concept of the eugenics movement, served as a key conceptual nexus between theological and scientific reflection on heredity among Protestant intellectuals and social reformers in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Elite efforts at social control of the allegedly "unfit" took the form of negative eugenics. This included marriage restrictions and even sterilization for many who were identified as having a suspect heredity. Speculations on heredity were deployed in identifying the feeble-minded, hereditary criminals, hereditary alcoholics, and racial minorities as presumed hindrances to the progress of civilization. A few social reformers trained in biology, anthropology, criminology, and theology eventually raised objections to the eugenics movement. Still, many thousands of citizens on the margins were labeled as defectives and suffered human rights violations during this turbulent time of social change. -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Degeneration theory and eugenics discourse

Theories of heredity and the rise of eugenics

"Stigmata of degeneration" : the religious rhetoric of eugenics

Eugenic family studies, science, and religion

The degenerate mind and hereditary mental defect

Epilepsy and eugenics in scientific and religious perspective

From sinful to criminal : the making of hereditary criminality

Drink and the degeneration of the germ plasm

Degeneration and the race question

Theologians, hereditary sin, and eugenics

Conclusion: The quest for good births.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-201).

ISBN:

9781532605772

1532605773

9781532605796

153260579X

OCLC:

983569628

Publisher Number:

99972868069