"[An] establishment of order and prosperity: Moravian material culture through the eyes of outsiders
Date
2021
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The Moravian town of Bethlehem went through a series of developmental changes between 1740-1745 that saw the community go from a closed-form of church-controlled communalism to an entirely open society. This change was precipitated by the outside world’s direct influence on the Moravian’s mission efforts towards the Native Americans. Bethlehem went from an economy based on supporting their missionary goals to one that focused on pleasing outsiders through the goods and services they provided to visitors. Outsiders flocked to Bethlehem for their health, to be entertained, and for the church’s international trade connections. Visitors brought with them needs and wants that the Moravians were only too eager to supply. Their new economy of goods introduced the Moravians to new textiles, books, and other objects, but most importantly to endless cycles of the wider world’s changing tastes. This impacted the town significantly because it resulted in architectural and spatial changes to Bethlehem that dissolved the communal boundary. By adapting their community structure with the changing face of American life, the Moravians actively practiced self-preservation by consistently redeveloping their own material culture to that of the world’s. For the Moravians, much of their way of life was dictated by the presence of outsiders within their communal space which ultimately affected the material makeup of the things we often determine as purely “Moravian.” Understanding the complexities of Moravian material culture history is fundamental to understanding the religious landscape that was widespread in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Studying the material culture of groups like the Moravians helps us make sense of the ever-changing nature of many intentional communities during this period of revivals and awakenings.
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Keywords
Bethlehem, Communal Studies, Material Culture, Moravian, Pennsylvania, Visitation