The interpretive role of the religious community in Friedrich Schleiermacher and Josiah Royce

Arguing that religious consciousness develops in specific, time-bound, historical ways, the author examines the role of the religious community in the interpretation of religious experience using the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Josiah Royce, late 18th-early 19th century theologians and philosophers. Emphasis is placed on the way in which the two thinkers respond to the rise of Enlightenment individualism and the diminishment of the role of the religious community to secondary status in individuals' understanding of religion and religious experience. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)