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The Work of Joseph Estlin Carpenter in the Field of Comparative Religion

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The Work of Joseph Estlin Carpenter in the Field of Comparative Religion Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs The Work Of Joseph Estlin Carpenter In The Field Of Comparative Religion Thesis How to cite: Marshall, Dennis Vernon (2001). The Work Of Joseph Estlin Carpenter In The Field Of Comparative Religion. MPhil thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 1997 Dennis Vernon Marshall https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.0000fceb Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk THE OPEN UNIVERSITY THE WORK OF JOSEPH ESTLIN CARPENTER IN THE FIELD OF COMPARATIVE RELIGION ^ THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ARTS (RELIGIOUS STUDIES) IN CANDH)ACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY BY THE REVEREND DENNIS VERNON MARSHALL B.D. (London), M A. (Birmingham) 10 Grenville Street Dukinfîeld Cheshire SK16 4TE June 2001 îiA-re of : S sePrî&fnô^^ ProQuest Number: 27696843 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 27696843 Published by ProQuest LLO (2019). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO. ProQuest LLO. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.Q. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 The Work of Joseph Estlin Carpenter in the field of Comparative Religion This thesis examines how Joseph Estlin Carpenter (1844-1927) used his skills in Comparative Religion to propagate a distinctive evolutionary scheme that elevated his own Unitarian Christianity. 1. The introductory chapter looks at Carpenter’s life and career and explores some of the written and human sources of inspiration for his Comparative Religion work. 2. Chapter 2 begins with an exploration of the trends and authorities in nineteenth century Unitarianism in both Britain and the USA. Carpenter’s Christianity is then examined in depth with a consideration of the different emphases at the different stages of his career. 3. The next chapter considers how Carpenter understood the theory of evolution. Different ways of how Carpenter applied the theory are examined. This is followed by an examination of the criteria he used to determine the evolutionary status of the religions. 4. In Chapter 4, a closer examination is made of Carpenter’s assessment of Buddhism and how it was presented in the light of his criteria for advanced evolutionary status. 5. Chapter 5 explores Carpenter’s work in relation to Hinduism and how he assessed the religion by application of his evolutionary assessment criteria. 6. The final chapter assesses the intelligibility of Carpenter’s evolutionary scheme, his contribution to the inter-faith movement, his contribution to Comparative Religion and his contribution to Unitarian thought. Rev D V Marshall ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In preparing this thesis I am deeply indebted to Dr. G. D Chryssides who, as External Supervisor, has been extremely helpful and inspirational through the course of the last few years. Thanks are due also to Dr. D. A T Thomas who has served as Internal Supervisor during my research period. My thanks are due to the Principal, Librarian, and staff of the Manchester Academy and Harris College, University of Oxford, for their practical assistance in providing access to archive material and for the free overnight accommodation and meals on several occasions. Thanks are also due to the Librarian and staff of Dr. Williams's Library, London, for permission to use essential archive material. I am also extremely grateful to the Reverend James McClelland M.A. and the Hibbert Trust, and to the Open University Arts Faculty Part-Time Postgraduate Research Fund, for invaluable financial support. CONTENTS 1 - Carpenter’s Life and Career 1 Introduction 1 A Brief Biography 7 Written Sources of Inspiration 21 exclusion 30 2 - Carpenter’s Christianity 32 Introduction 32 Unitarian Christianity in the Nineteenth Century 32 Carpenter’s Theology 48 An Appraisal 64 3 - Carpenter and Evolution 70 Introduction 70 Carpenter’s Understanding of Evolution 70 Carpenter’s Judgrhent of the Religions 89 The Nature of Evolution 96 4 - Carpenter and Buddhism 102 Introduction 102 Carpenter’s Sources of Inspiration 105 The Evolutionary Status of Buddhism 116 An Appraisal 133 5 - Carpenter and Hinduism 138 Introduction 138 Carpenter’s Sources of Inspiration 141 The Evolutionary Status of Hinduism 153 An Appraisal 172 6 - An Assessment of Carpenter 178 Introduction 178 Carpœter’s Evolutionary Scheme 178 Carpenter and the Inter-Faith Movement 188 Carpenter’s Contribution to Comparative Religion 197 CarpoQter’s Contribution to Unitarian Thought 206 Conclusion 212 Bibliography 215 CHAPTER 1 CARPENTER’S LIFE AND CAREER Introduction Joseph Estlin Carpenter (1844-1927) was a Unitarian minister and academic, whose interests were broad and widespread. Although well regarded for his work in church history and theology, he specialised in Bibhcal Studies and Comparative Religion. Estlin Caipmter was a figure relatively unknown outside Unitarian circles and the question must be asked as to >^y his work deserves attention. Carpenter’s work is fundamentally an exanple of how the study of Comparative Rehgion was carried out with a clear agenda. Comparative Religion was a worthwhile pursuit, in his view, because it pointed to evolutionary develryments that were best exertplified by Unitarian Christianity. Carpenter was thus motivated by a desire to promote Unitarian Christianity and focused on aspects of the world’s rehgions that were congenial to the Western student. The rehgions of the East were presented in such a way that they could be acknowledged as integral elements of God’s unfolding revelation. Carpenter’s approach made his works easily readable to the Western student. What a study of his works reveals to us is a Vidorian sdiolar who sought to embrace other rehgions as integral developments of the one human rehgious tradition. Carpenter’s work was not distinctive, but he was a well-known and competent scholar in his time. There were few other scholars who worked in the same field and he was the first British Unitarian to make such a cxmtribution. He is thus worthy of attention, particularly, but not exclusively, in his Unitarian context. One should note that the academic community outside the Unitarian movement chd not totaUy ignore Carpenter’s work. His contribution was considered very significant and his influence wider than that of ''the mere savant”, according to his biographer (Famell, 1929 p. 178). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church cited him for his extensive knowledge of subjects connected with Comparative Religion and Semitic literature (Cross, 1958, p.239). A more modem publication has acknowledged his contribution, remarking on his irrpressive range of interests coimected with Comparative Rehgion. "Carpenter was thus no dilettante in conq)arative religion”, it said (Sharpe, 1975,p.l30). Within the Unitarian movement, though, Carpenter had an important place. Carpenter has always been recognised, within Unitarianism, as a major figure in Corrparative Religion. As an outstanding Unitarian, Carpenter was acknowledged as a major figure, not only in Comparative Rehgion, but in a number of other fields too (Holt, 1938, p.338). Unitarians ^parently held Carpenter’s name with “reverence” as they did with nobody else's in his day (Jones, 1946, p.85). It was suggested that few had made larger contributions to the progress of Comparative Religion (Hall, 1962,p. 130). It was even beheved that Carpenter’s work in Comparative Religion was so influential within Unitarianism that he was instrumental in shifting the theological position of the movement to a more broad and conprehensive one (Hewett, 1968, p. 161). All these statements are drawn fix>m inportant records of Unitarian history and trends. The object of this first chapter is to consider what pronpted Carpenter to become interested in Comparative Rehgion in the first place. It deals with what it was that continuallyfed his interest in the subject, and what were the influences, human and textual, ftiat sh^ed his work. Carpenter did not work in isolation and I shall look at what comparative work was being done in the Victorian era. Carpenter felt impelled to take up the study because of his ftimily history and because he was inspired by certain written material. I shall consider these influences, together with a brief survey of his hfe and career. It is inportant to n(Ae here that the term most used by Carpenter, “Comparative Religion”, is now problematic. Sometimes, however. Carpenter used an alternative term, “the History of Religion”. One should note that “Comparative Rehgion” is a term that reflects the feelings of the time that Christianity was the norm agamst which all other belief systems were to be measured. It is a term less appropriate today when academic institutions seek to treat the world’s religions with equal consideration. “The History of Rehgions” or “The Study of Rehgions” is more in keeping with that sentiment. Thus many university dpartments of Comparative Rehgion altered their names in order to epress that change in percption. The Comparative Religjon Scene in the Victorian Era Comparative Rehgion, diough not a new discipline, came to public attention in the sixties and seventies of the nineteenth century (Sharpe, 1975, p.l).
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