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    Journalof theAmericanAcademy f Religion.LX/3

    An American Pioneer in theStudy of ReligionHannahAdams (1755-1831) and herDictionaryof All ReligionsThomas A. Tweed

    ALMOST A CENTURYbefore the rise of comparativereligion as afield, Hannah Adamsresolved to write an impartialand comprehensivesurveyof the religions of the world. The significanceof that book, ADictionary f All Religions,was not lost on her contemporaries.Adamswas well known in New Englandduringher lifetime. She was, as onehistorian has suggested,one of the most widely read authors in theregionbetween 1787 and 1830 (Gilmore:65). Her works were shelvedin family libraries as frequentlyas those of, for example, JonathanEdwards. By certainmeasures,they were even more popularthan thewritingsof John Bunyanor BenjaminFranklin. There is other evidenceof her regionalpopularity:a reviewerof the fourtheditionassumedthathis readersknew the authorand her works. The ReverentSamuelWil-lard (1775-1859) of Deerfield,Massachusetts,opened his very positiveevaluationby reporting hat he would not offer much background ince"the author of this work is in such full possession of publick regard,from the benefitconferredby her writings,and the merits of her severalproductionsare so generallyknown" (86).1Her fame was less widespreadelsewhere,but she had readers andThomas A. Tweed is AssistantProfessorof ReligiousStudies at the Universityof Miami, CoralGables,FL 33124. The authorgratefullyacknowledges he supportof the National Endowment orthe Humanitiesand the aid of the late ProfessorWilliam A. Clebsch,who introducedhim to thewritingof HannahAdams.lIn this opening paragraph,and throughoutthis essay, I refer to Adams's attemptto offer an

    "impartial" ccountof religions. Some scholarsin the humanities and social sciences have ques-tioned whetherresearchers an achieve "objectivity."I cannot address this importantand vexingissue here, but clearlycomplete impartialitys impossible. It is difficulteven to imaginewhat thatmight mean. At the same time, I presupposethat scholars should aim to treat sourcesfairlyandcriticallyand should attemptto be conscious of commitments,religiousor otherwise,that mightlimit understanding.Whichever otherprinciples mightbe involvedin the academicstudyof reli-

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    438 Journalof the AmencanAcademyof Religionadmirersscatteredthroughout he United Statesand GreatBritain. HerDictionary f all Religionswas first published in 1784 under a differenttitle. By the time the fourth and final edition appearedin 1817, thepopularbook had changedits title twice and appeared n threeAmeri-can editions and two Britishversions. An anonymousreviewerof herposthumously published Memoirsclaimed that "her reputation hadextended through her own land, and was well known abroad"("Review":133). Adams's survivingcorrespondenceoffers some sup-portfor this claim. MarthaRamsayof Charlestonwrote a letterpraisingthe second edition of Adams's Dictionary: "I think your work farexceedsanythingof the kindyet attempted,andone which no personorinquiringmind, havingonce perusedwould willingly be without."Unfortunately,most "inquiringminds" of succeeding generationseither never have perusedher book or willingly have done without it.Mosttwentieth-century istoriesof the field fail to cite her writings(Jas-trow;DeVries;Bolle;Sharpe). Her work had some influence on nine-teenth-century ttempts o survey he religious andscape. Forexample,it providedthe model for VincentL. Milner'sReligiousDenominationsfthe World,publishedin 1872. Milner'svolume reprintedmaterial romAdams'sbook, andit was remarkablyimilar n structureandapproach.Butthe majority f late-nineteenth-century merican nterpreters f reli-gion overlookedor undervaluedher contributions. In one sense, this isnot surprising. Her sources quickly became outdatedbecause of theproliferationof new translationsand authoritative ccounts duringthenineteenthcentury. It also makes sense thatthe conservativeProtestantauthorsof the manycompendiathatappeared n the century gnoredherwork: they did not share her commitment to impartiality. It is moredifficult to explain, however,her loss of statureamong New Englandliberals. Unitarianand Transcendentalistwritersin the Boston area-includingLydiaMariaChild (1802-80), James Freeman Clarke(1810-88), and SamuelJohnson (1822-82)-authored importantworkson theworld religionsstarting n the 1850s. These workswere the successorsto the compendiaof Adams'sgeneration,and they anticipated he evenmore sophisticatedsurveysthatbegan to appearin the last decadesofthe nineteenthcenturyand the first of the twentieth. YetClarke,John-son, and Child failed to acknowledge publicly Adams's importantcontributions.In one of the most surprisingand inexplicabledevelopments,Child,

    gion, these two are fundamental. In this sense, Adams is laudableforaimingat "impartiality." nthis sense, she is partof the lineage of the studyof religion.

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    who met Adams and read herwork,claimedoriginality orher own callfor an impartialapproach o the studyof religions. In the prefaceto thefirst volume of TheProgress f Religious deas,Child complained aboutthe "one-sidedness"of previousoverviews. Herbook, Child promisedher readers,would be novel: "The facts it contains are very old; thenovelty t claims is the pointof view fromwhich those facts are seen andpresented"(1855:I,vii). Her approachwould be new, Child explained,because she had written"withcompleteimpartiality."No one else haddone that: "Iam not awareof anyone who trulyreverenced he spiritofChristianity,who has ever beforetried the experimentof placingit pre-ciselyon a level with otherreligions,so far as the manner of representa-tion is concerned"(1855:1:viii,ix,x). It is difficult to know what Childmeant by this. Did she mean that Adams had not succeeded in herattempts at impartiality? Did she think that Adams had not evenattempted mpartiality?Ordid she-this is difficultto imagine-simplyforgetAdams's book?In any case, like Child, many independentand academicscholarswho followed Adams have failed to acknowledgeAdams's precedent;and manyof those who have rememberedher have dismissedher con-tributionsas insignificant. Perhaps takingthe lead from Adams'sownself-deprecatingcomments, the author of one entry in a biographicaldictionaryconcludedthat "her works contain nothing original"(DAB).In a collection of essayson New Englandreligioushistorypublishedin1917, Dean William Wallace Fenn of HarvardDivinitySchool seemedto go out of his way to dismiss her, calling her "a literary ady of verylocal and temporary enown"(Planter:104). A more recentevaluation,which appearedin a highly respectedreferencework, suggestedthat,althoughshe was admiredby her contemporaries,"herwritingsare ofno lasting consequence"(James).But some have remembered her and acknowledgedher contribu-tions. Studentsof women'shistoryhaverememberedHannahAdams asthe firstwoman to earnher living by writingin America(Cott 1977:7).The only two articlesdevotedexclusivelyto Adams both emphasizethis(Gould;Gleason),and so do most of the entriesin biographicaldiction-aries (NCAB; DAB;Leverier and Wilmes). She also is mentioned inmany overviews of American women's history, usually at or near thestartof a chapteron women authorsor professionals(Hanaford:175-76;Logan:793-94; rwin:21-22). Some scholars have recognizedher role asan earlyhistorywriter(Brooks:125;Baym:1). Studentsof New Englandreligious history recall her disputes with Jedidiah Morse and heracquaintanceswith major Unitarian ministers (Wright:77-85; Phil-

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    lips:151-57). Severalchroniclersof the historyof the Americanencoun-ter with Asian religionshave noted Adams'ssignificance(Ahlstrom:21;Jackson: 6-19; Tweed:xvii,4,93;Williams:61-66).A few scholarshave recognizedher preeminentplace in the historyof the studyof religion. The authorof one of the earliesthistories of thefield of "comparative eligion,"Louis HenryJordon,listed five Ameri-cans who wroteduringthe second half of the nineteenthcenturyamongits "foundersand masters"- James FreemanClarke,SamuelJohnson,WilliamFairfieldWarren,CrawfordHowellToy,and FrankFieldEllin-wood. Adams,however,was the only American ncluded-with Benja-min Constant,ChristophMeiners,FriedrichMax Muller,and others-amongthe field's "prophetsandpioneers." In that 1905 volumeJordonacknowledgedthat Adams had failed to implement fully her plan forimpartiality, uthe argued hather work was a "reallynotable undertak-ing" consideringher periodand limitations. It pointedtoward the newfield of comparative eligionthatwould get underway duringthe 1870s(146-50).To suggest that Adams was a pioneer is not to say that she stoodalone. Her Dictionarywas linked with two related Europeanliterarygenres-philosophical "dictionaries" and religious compendia. IfAdams's perspectivewas more conventionallyChristian than that ofeither PierreBayle(1647-1706) or Voltaire(1694-1778), the formatofher book owed much to these and other seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuryphilosophicaldictionaries. The other,moreimportant, raditionthatAdams'sbook continuedwas that of compendiaof religions. Thesebegan to appearat least as earlyas the seventeenthcentury. One of thefirst was AlexanderRoss's Pansebia;Or, a Viewof All Religionsn theWorld.But like most of the overviews that followed, Ross's book washardlyas comprehensiveas its title suggested,and its prominentChris-tianauthor,who served as the King'schaplain n his lateryears,showedlittle inclination to treat non-Christiantraditionswith any sympathy.Other notable Britishand Continentalworks in this tradition ncludedThomasBroughton'sHistoricalDictionaryfAllReligions,BernardPicart'sCeremonies t coutumesreligieuses e tous les peuplesdu monde,CharlesFrancois Dupuis's Ongine de tous les cultes, Christoph Meiners'sAllgemeine ritischegeschichte erreligionen, nd BenjaminConstant'sDela religion,considereedans sa source,sesformes, et ses developpements.Adamswas not as theoreticallysophisticatedas most of these authors,and she failed to include a generalentryon "religion"or to speculateexplicitlyaboutits nature or origin. Yet herDictionaryhould be listed

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    among these other pioneering works because of its approach andcomprehensiveness.Adams also is importantbecause she was amongthe earliestAmeri-can studentsof worldreligions. Others n America, rom CottonMatherto John Adams,had shown limited interestin non-Christianreligionsand cultures. After 1784, some Americantraders, ravelers,and diplo-mats had direct contact with Asian religions. Amaso Delano (1763-1823), for example, publisheda Narrativeof Voyages nd Travels,whichdescribedthe religionsof China and India. Duringthe firstdecadesofthe nineteenthcentury,AmericanProtestantmissionarieswho were fil-led with compassionfor the lost souls in Asian and elsewheresent backreports. William Bentley (1759-1819), the Unitarianminister of theEast Church in Salem, learned Arabic and Persian and investigatedAsian traditions from his second floor study. Bentley, who readAdams'sbooks, also helped to spreadand maintain interestin Asian,especiallyChinese,traditionsthroughhis workfor the EastIndia MarineSociety n Salem. Buthe failedto publishthe resultsof his wide-rangingresearch n anysystematic orm. As far as I can tell, then, Adams'sonlyserious rivalfor the title of Americanpioneeris Joseph Priestley 1733-1804), the Unitarianscientist and author who emigrated o the UnitedStatesin 1794. In 1799, fifteenyears after the firstedition of Adams'svolume appeared,PriestlypublishedA Comparisonf the Institutions fMoseswith Thoseof the Hindoosand otherAncientNations. This book,however,was less comprehensive han Adams's: it focused on Hindu-ism and Judaism. It was much more explicitly polemical, too.Adams might not have been the only American"prophetand pio-neer" of the study of religion, as Jordon proclaimed;others playedimportantroles. Yet, at the same time, most of the negative udgmentsof her significanceseem unfair. While she failed to live up to the stan-dardsshe set forherself,Adamsmanagedto providea remarkablynclu-sive and relatively mpartialview of the religiouslandscape. I suggestthatfor what she attempted,as much as what she accomplished,Adamsshould be counted among the American pioneers of the study ofreligion.In the remainderof this essay I consider the origin, method, andcontent of her groundbreakingbook, The Dictionaryof All Religions,focusingon the final, and most comprehensive,edition.

    SURMOUNTING OBSTACLESIt was not easy for Adams to come to write her pioneeringbook.

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    Severalobstacles stood in her way-sexism, shyness, and povertyaswell as religious doubt, limited education,and "debilitating"reading.Drivenby financial need and ragingcuriosity,Adamsbegan writingthefirst edition of her surveyin her house in Medfield,Massachusetts,n1778. Medfield,where she had been raised,was an old New Englandtown of Puritanheritage. She quicklydiscovered,however, that therewas much beyond the establishedCongregationalChurch,which hadbeen gathering n the town meeting house since 1653. The religiouslandscape included not only Baptists,the only "dissenting"group inMedfield during her lifetime (Tilden; MedfieldReflections),but alsoSwedenborgians nd Moravians,Zoroastrians nd Buddhists. At least atfirst,Adamswanderedthatbroadreligiousplain disorientedby its vast-ness, surprisedby its variability.And, as she acknowledged, he diver-gent beliefs of world religions and especially the competingclaims ofChristiangroups disquietedher. "As I readcontroversy," he recalled,"I sufferedextremelyfrom mental indecision, while pursuingthe vari-ous and contradictory rgumentsadducedby men of piety and learningin defence of their respectivereligious systems. Sometimesmy mindwas so stronglyexcited,thatextremefeeling obligedme for a time to layaside my employment"(1832:14). She also was worriedby "thisgreatand painfultruth"-that "heathens"and MuslimsgreatlyoutnumberedChristians 1817:375). Vast numbersremainedbeyond the boundariesof Christendom.

    Adams also was unsettledby the vast terrain, n part,because shefelt unprepared or the task of mappingit. Sometimes she hinted thather handicapsarose from fixed factors such as disposition or gender.Forexample,she tracedthe "mental ndecision" she experiencedas sheconfrontedcompeting religiousclaims to inheritedcharacteristics.Hermind, she explained,was "naturallywantingin firmnessand decision"(1832:14). Mostoften she blamed her lack of formaleducation or herunwise readinghabits. "Stimulated y an ardentcuriosity," he recalledyears later, "I enteredthe vast field of religious controversy, or whichmy readinghad ill preparedme" (1832:13). She had been too ill toattendschool regularly,and, as one friendpointed out, the schools inruralcommunities in the 1760s and 1770s were not particularygoodanyway. She had one important advantage: her bookish fatherencouragedher learningandguidedher reading. Yet,like other womenof the age, Adamscomplainedthat she had been hamperedby readingtoo much "women's literature,"which stimulatedthe sentiments, notthe reason. Shehadbeen, to use her own words,"debilitatedby readingRomancesand novels, which are addressedto the fancyand the imagi-

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    nation" (1832:14-15). If only she had read works of theologylike theyoung men trainingfor the ministryat Harvard,Adams believed, shemighthave been betterprepared o adjudicate he disputesshe encoun-tered as she surveyedthe contradictory laims of Christiangroups andworld religions.Of all the obstaclesAdams faced as she set out to describe the reli-gious landscape,the internal and externaleffectsof sexism might havebeen the greatest.With the publicationof the first edition of her survey,and the eight books and pamphlets that followed, Adams became thefirst woman in America to earn her living by writing. Even more thanthe next generationof liberal New England emale authorssuch as LydiaChild and CatharineMariaSedgwick(1789-1867), then, Adams had tostrugglewith the most basic issue: Is it proper, even possible, forwomen to earn a living by writing? Child and Sedgwick,at least, hadthe advantageof her exampleand that of others. Adams had to find herown way, and she felt the inhibiting pressuresof sexism from withinandwithout. On the one hand, she fought self-deprecatingmpulses allher life. Those impulses arose from her conviction that she had beenpoorlytrainedforher professionand froman awkwardnessbredby theseclusion of her sicklychildhood. Yet theywere, no doubt,also rootedin sociallyconstructednotions of genderidentity. Reflectingand inter-nalizing the ethos of her age, at times Adams called herself "a merewoman" (Gleason:81).2Butthe inhibitingeffects of sexism, and herpersonalhistory,did notimmobilizeAdams: she could be alternatelybold and timid, self-satis-fied and self-denigrating.She displayeduncommonboldness at times,especiallyin the line of professionalduty. For example, on Christmasday in 1817 Adams showed up unannounced and uninvited at a Swe-denborgianserviceheld in a privateresidencein Boston. She came toconduct research,but her "informants" ound her presence so dis-turbingthat they cut the service short (Reed:121). She also felt free toaskprominentstrangerso help herwith herresearch. Forexample,shewrote to the busyJohn Carroll 1735-1815), the first AmericanCatholicbishop, to requestinformationon Catholics. After her first book she

    2It is not especiallyuseful to focus on the issue of whetherAdams,or any other historicalfigure,was a feministsince that termis a twentieth-centurynvention. Butsince the questionstill arises,Iwill address t briefly. Adams was not a feministby most definitions of the term. NancyCott,forinstance, has suggestedfeminism involves three core components- opposition to sex hierarchy,belief in the social constructionof genderroles, and the identificationof women as a social as wellas a biologicalgroup(1987:4-5). With the possible exceptionof the thirdcomponent,Adamsdidnot endorseexplicitly n her publishedand unpublishedwritingsanyof these definingconvictions.

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    also allowed herself some self-congratulation.Adams began to sensethatbooks could be more than a way to survive. Theymightbe useful.She might be useful. "Itwas poverty,not ambition,or vanity,that firstinduced me to become an author... but now I formedthe flatteringidea, that I might not only help myself, but benefit the public"(1832:22). Encouraged nd advisedby membersof the Bostonelite, shealso mustered he courage o squabblepubliclywith the prominentCon-gregationalistminister,JedidiahMorse(1761-1826), over the rightstothe publicationof a textbook on New Englandhistory (Adams 1814;Morse). On the other hand, it is importantto rememberthat Adamsmightnot have hadthe courageto publish if she had not been driventoit by the forceof poverty. At least initially,she wrote becauseher fatherhad failedmiserably n business, and she neededto supportherselfandher sister. Further, he felt most at home alonewith her books or in thecompanyof a smallgroupof femalefriends. Mostothertimes,observersagreed,she seemed unsureof herself.Adams, then, dipped her toes into the waters of the male publicsphere cautiouslyand tentatively;once she took the plunge, she foundthat the currentsran both warm and cold. In some ways her gender,and the prevailingsexism, workedin her favor. Partlyout of respectforher eruditionand sympathyfor her poverty,yet perhaps also from acondescendingchivalry,a number of prominent Boston professionalsbefriended her. On 20 March 1827 male trusteesat the Boston Athe-naeum allowed her access to their forbiddenhalls. She was the firstwoman permitted entry to that important private library ("TrusteesRecords"). Earlier,the ReverendJoseph Stevens Buckminster 1784-1812), the youngbut influentialUnitarianpreacher,and PresidentJohnAdams,a distantrelative, nvitedher to browse theirpersonallibrariesso that she no longerwould have to squatin booksellers'shops copyinginformationfor hours (Adams 1832:28,38,74-75). Localprofessionalswrote letterson her behalf. Theyvigorouslydefendedher in the publicdebatewith Morse. Theyeven arrangedo payher an annualstipendsothatshe would not have to worryaboutmoney (Adams 1832:36-37). Ifbeing a woman was a mainportionof herproblem,it also helped attractaid-sincere and condescending-from the elite.

    In most ways, however, her gender was yet another handicap.Adamsacknowledged his in her typicallycautiousand self-deprecatingway. In herMemoir, he quoteda passagefroma biographyof the Brit-ish poet and novelist, CharlotteSmith (1749-1806), that complainedthat the "penaltiesanddiscouragements ttendingauthors n generalfallupon woman with doubleweight"(34). Adamsthen addeda qualified

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    Tweed HannahAdams 445endorsementf thisassessment:"Though havebeen tooinsignificant,andtreatedwithtoo muchcandor,ully orealizehe aboveremarks,etI havebeenin a situation eeply o feel thetrialswhich attenditerarypursuits"35). LydiaChildwasless hesitant o pointoutthenegativeeffectsof sexism forAdamsand otherfemaleauthorsof the previousgeneration.Childwroteof Adamssixtyyearsafter he firsteditionofherDictionaryfReligions ad appeared hat "theprejudiceagainst iter-arywomenwas then muchstrongerhan now." To illustrate,Childrelayed story,one of many hatcirculated bout he learnedbut idio-syncraticAdams: "Someone happenedo remarkhattheywonderedwhyHannahAdamshadneverbeenmarried,orshewasreallya verysensibleand pleasantwoman. 'MarryHannahAdams!,' xclaimedagentlemanwho waspresent;whyI shouldas soon thinkof marryingmyGreekGrammar'"1852:133-34).Awareof thepresuppositionsfher contemporariesnd thoseof earliergenerations,Child felt com-pelledto reassure eaders hatAdamshad not been a textbook.3A fewmenseemedabletoacknowledgeer ntellectualccomplish-mentswithout eferenceo gender,but notmany Bentley :215). EzraStiles(1727-95),the eruditepresident f Yale,recorded hisgenerousassessmentn his diary or25 September793: "VisitedMissHannahAdamsat36 at Medfield nd detainedwithher one day by NEStorm.She is an Authoress,& has readmorethanmostpersonsof her age"(Dexter:507).NotethatStiles'squalificationoncernedge,notgender.He did notsaythatshehadreadratherwidely ora woman. Butmostofthosewhoadmired eraccomplishmentsouldnotseebeyond he bar-rierofgender.Adamshaddedicatedhe secondeditionof hercompen-diumof religionso PresidentohnAdams.In return, e laterpraisedher in one letterby saying hat herwritinghad "donehonor to yoursex."As in this informal ssessment,hereoftenwasa note of surprise,and a touchof condescension,n the adulationhatAdamsreceived.

    ADAMS'SMETHOD:"TO AVOIDGIVINGPREFERENCE"Even f manyofAdams's arly eadersmphasizedersingularitysa femalewriter-always hequalification-sheherselfwas ableto look

    beyondgender o the issuesthatconfronted ll thosewhohadtried omap the religiousworld. She did not claim originality n that task. In3Adams'sfriend, Hannah Farham SawyerLee, who wrote the "AdditionalNotices" affixed toAdams'sposthumouslypublishedautobiography, lso acknowledged hatsome contemporaries adthoughtof Adams as "a walking dictionary" Adams 1832:49).

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    446 Journalof the AmencanAcademyof Religionfact, Adams described herself-here again the self-deprecatingimpulse-as a "compiler"ratherthan an author (1832:22). Yet sheboasted thather approachto the task was novel. She outlinedher self-imposed guidelinesin the "Advertisement"printedat the front of eachedition. Adamsvowed to be faithful to the self-understanding f thoseshe described,using their own words whereverpossible. She promisedto offer a comprehensiveand balanced view of the group's history,worldview,and practicesand not focus on isolatedor unflatteringnci-dents. Adams wanted to be fair to secondarysources-even when shefelt compelled to alter their accounts because the authorshad violatedher most important methodological principle, scholarly disinterested-ness. She aimed,most of all, "to avoidgivingthe leastpreferenceof onedenominationaboveanother." Placingherselfamongthe earliestWest-ern students of religionto hold herselfto such standards,Adamsstroveto avoid denigrating abels and withhold dismissivejudgments.In fact,she claimedthatshe had been drivento write her firstbook,in part,by outrageat otherbiased accounts. To earnmoney,her fathertook in youngmale boarders. One of them taughther Latin and Greek.He also brought into the house the survey of religions authoredbyThomasBroughton 1704-1774), the Britishclergymanof the ChurchofEngland. Thatbook,AnHistorical ictionaryfAllReligionsfromheCre-ationofthe WorldothePresent, hangedher life. Shewas so annoyedbyits hostile treatmentof dissentingChristian ects andvariousnon-Chris-tian religionsthat she began to readeverythingshe could find on reli-gious history. Adams discovered that other writers were not muchbetter, and so she resolved to write a more tolerant and accurateaccount: "I soon became disgusted with the want of candor in theauthorsI consulted,in giving the most unfavorabledescriptionsof thedenominationsthey disliked, and applyingto them the names of here-tics, fanatics,enthusiasts,& I thereforemade a plan for myself,made ablankbook, and wrote rulesfortranscribing, nd addingto my compila-tion" (1832:11).

    ADAMS'S VIEW OF THE RELIGIOUSWORLDForAdams,the problemwith Broughton'sbook, and others like it,began with the scheme for classifying religions. It was bivalent. Reli-gions couldbe divided into two groups-true and false. AlthoughJuda-ism was a bit closer to the truereligionthan the others since it was ofdivine origin, all other non-Christian traditions were dismissed aswholly and unambiguously alse. The diversity hat any studentof reli-

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    gion encounters, ven using eighteenth-centuryources,was, finally,dissolved. "The firstgeneraldivision of Religion s into True andFalse,"Broughton rote. "That nfinitevariety,herefore,n the doc-trinesandmodesof worship,whichhaveprevailedn the world(oneonlyschemeexcepted)arebut so manydeviationsrom the truth,somanyFalseReligions"1). Broughtoniddistinguish four randreli-gionsof the world"-"Pagan,Jewish,Christian, nd Mohammedan."He alsosometimes istinguishedeligionshronologicallynto "antient"and "modem." But these distinctionsremainedunimportantorBroughton.Tohim,thereligiousandscape ppearedather imited nscope-and notespeciallyorbiddingr unsettling.IfAdamshadbeen ableto acceptBroughton'slassification,erini-tialdisorientationt thevastnessof thereligiousieldmighthavebeenreduced reliminated.Whatdiversity?Whichcompetinglaims?Butshecouldnotaccept hatbivalent cheme. Even houghAdamsclearlyfavoredChristianity,he did notmerely eparate eligions nd sects ntothe trueandthe false. Forthemostpart,aspromised,he also avoidednegativeabels. But,as a personof her era who wasrestrictedy hersources,Adamsalsodidnotalter ignificantlyhe basicmapof the reli-giousworld hatshe hadinherited.In fact,themostbasiccontours fthatmaphadchangedittlesincethevoyages fdiscovery.Newpeoplesandreligionswereaddedhere. Newboundaries eredrawn here.Butuntilapproximatelyhe secondquarter f the nineteenth entury hereligiousworld stillwas populated y Christians,ews,Muslims,and"Pagans" r "Heathens."Christians, s thosefollowing he revealedreligion,tood n thehighestposition.Jewsweresecondbest. Muslims,because heyshareda monotheisticaith andsomecommonheritage,stoodnextin thehierarchy.ForAdamsand mostof hercontemporar-ies, the finalcategory, Heathens"r "Pagans,"ncludedan extremelywiderangeof groupsandpeoples. In theentryunder"Pagans"n herDictionary,or nstance,Adamsisted oursubgroupsf thosewhostandoutside hetraditionsf the monotheisticWest. The first wo includedthereligions fvarious ncientpeoples Greeks ndRomans s well as"Chaldeans,henicians,ndSabians, tc...."). NextcamethemajorAsianreligions"theChinese,Hindoos, apanese,&"). Finally,Adamslisted the religionsof non-literate eoples (the "barbarians"f theAmericas,the SouthSeas, and Africa).44Forexample, the classificationscheme used by ThomasJefferson,the Deist (Pancake:326,334);Joseph Tuckerman, he Unitarian(183); EzraStiles, the TrinitarianCongregationalist132); andDavidBenedict,the Baptist(1-51), was basicallythe same.

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    Adams'smap of the religiousworldmightseem distortedand crudeby contemporarystandards,yet it was an advance over Broughton'ssketch,and thatof manyothers. She not only avoideda bivalent classi-fication that undercutall subsequentdistinctions and overvaluedonetradition,but her coverageof "heathen"religionswas morejudiciousand comprehensive. The dictionary format itself-instead ofBroughton's hematicorganization-also addedto the reader'ssense ofthe vastness and variabilityof the terrain.

    Christianity, Judaism, and IslamAdams covered most of the religiousworld in one way or another,but Christianity eceiveddisproportionate ttention. In fact, more thaneighty-five percent of the more than seven hundred entries deal with"orthodox"or "heterodox"Christiangroupsor ideas. This is not sur-prising since Adams was a committed Christianof CongregationalistheritageandUnitarian nclinationswho wrotedecadesbeforethe formalrise of the field of comparative eligion. But,to a largeextent,she man-aged to set aside her heritage and inclinations as she composed her

    accounts of Christiansects.5Adams wrote those accountsby siftingthroughprimaryand secon-darysources for relevantinformationand then modifyingthe receivedinterpretations ccording o her particularpurposesand methodologicalprinciples. With few exceptions, the secondarysourcesthat she foundmost helpful were travelaccounts, sermons, histories, or encyclopediaentries writtenby Christianswho were not afraid o reveal theirevalua-tions of the groupstheydescribed. Two of her most often citedsources,for instance, were Broughton'sDictionarythe book that had annoyedher so much) andJohannLorenzvon Mosheim's(1694-1755) AnEccle-siasticalHistory,AntientandModem,rom the Birthof Christ o the Present

    5Adams'sworks on Christianity ffer a glimpseof her religiousviews (1804; 1824). She explicitlysidedwith the Unitarians n her Memoirs43). Besidesbeing friendswith important arlyUnitarianministers such as James Freeman and Joseph Buckminster he also apparentlywent to hear themost famousand importantUnitarianpreacherof her day,William ElleryChanning(1780-1842).The membershiprecordsof Channing'schurch in Boston, Federal StreetChurch,do not includeher name (Unitarian-Universalist rchives,SpecialCollections,Andover-Harvard ibrary,HarvardDivinitySchool, Cambridge). Yet other evidence suggests that Adams regularlyheard Channingpreach. "She attended Dr. Channing'schurch," LydiaChild recalled, "and had great personalrespectfor him" (1852:132). There are differentways to date the opening of the field of the "sci-ence of religions"or "comparative eligions." I follow William Clebsch,who argued hat the fieldformallyarose in 1870, when FriedrichMax Miller in London and Emile Louis Bumoufin Parisindependentlyand simultaneouslycalled for a "scientific"studyof religions(6).

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    Century.The latter,a multi-volumeworkwrittenby the influentialGer-man Lutheran church historian, was no more gentle with opposingviews thanBroughton's urvey. In dealingwith these secondary ources,Adamsusuallydid what she promised: she omitteddeprecatoryabelsand adjectives as she recorded information. Her treatment of theAnabaptists, hatgroupof Protestantswho often sufferedpersecution nEuropebecause of their unconventionalbeliefs, is typical. Mosheimhadnot mincedwords as he described "thefrenzyof their disorderedbrainsand the madness of their pretensions and projects." He called them"fanatical" and "outrageous"(3:363, 4:129-64). Only a hint ofMosheim'scondemnationsurvivesin Adam's account,however. In amuch abbreviateddescription, she portrayedthem as "a sect whicharosein the time of Luther'sReformation n Germany,and excitedvari-ous insurrections,underpretenceof erectingthe kingdomof Christonearth." That word "pretence"is a bit loaded. By using it Adamsimplied that theirclaims were false. Yetoverall,as with most accountsof Christiangroups,the entryon Anabaptists n Adams'sDictionarywasmuch less dismissive than that found in her sources.Of the many Christiangroupsthat Adams described,most of themwere as controversialas the Anabaptists. Manyof them, in fact, weremore controversial. She paid a great deal of attention to groups andideas that lost in the battle for Christianorthodoxy. Of course,most ofthe traditionalChristiangroups and positions are representedin herbook. Thereare,for example,the expected depictionsof "Protestants,""RomanCatholics,""Lutherans,"and "Calvinists." Yet most of theentries on Christian topics concern dissenting viewpoints. VariousGnostic groups and positions-including Manichaeism, which was

    viewed as a Christianheresy-receive a surprisingamount of coverage.Arians,Pelegians,andmanyotherinterpreters f doctrinewho had beenstamped as "heretical"by some official churchbody found their wayinto her overviewtoo.Adamsprovideda glimpse of otherdissenting groupsand new sectsin America. For example, she offered an extremelylong account (tenand a halfpages)of the Universalists, he denomination hatemerged nthe lateeighteenthcentury. She sneered at Deism, the view thatempha-

    sized naturaland not supernatural ources of religious knowledge andthat was embracedby a small but influentialcollection of intellectuals.She describedMoravians,Swedenborgians, nd membersof the Churchof Brethren.Adamsalso sketchedespeciallyinterestingportraitsof theShakersand the UniversalFriends,two new communitarian ects thatemergedfrom the revival,or "New LightStir,"that swept across rural

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    450 Journalof the AmericanAcademyof ReligionNew Englandin the late eighteenth century(Marini). Adding to thesignificanceof these new groupsfor readers then and now, both sectswere foundedby women. The Shakers,or The UnitedSocietyof Believ-ers in Christ'sSecondComing,were broughtto AmericafromEnglandin 1774 when Ann Lee Stanley(1736-84) emigratedwith eight follow-ers. The UniversalFriends,which was establishedby JemimaWilkin-son (1752-1819), flourished in Rhode Island and Connecticut from1776 to 1789. Adherentsof both communitiesheld a number of uncon-ventional views; but they, like the other dissenters that Adamsdescribed,claimedto be orthodox Christians.6The cumulative effect of Adams's treatment of Christianity,inAmericaand elsewhere,was to highlightconflict and variety. Adams,perhapsonly aftershe finished the firstdraft,realizedthis. A good dealof the anxiety that she experienced no doubt arose as she read andrecorded competing accounts of the nature of Christianity. In theappendixof her book she tried to dealwith the psychologicaldiscomfortand theological problems such a treatmentmight create. There she,first, bluntly acknowledged that "the diversity of sentiment amongChristianshas been exhibited in the precedingpages." She went on,however,to reassureher readers hat this need not challengetheir faith."Thecandidmind,"Adamscontinued,"will not considerthose variousopinions as an argument against divine revelation. The truth of thesacredwritingsis attestedby the strongestevidence .. ." (371-72). Shethen listed the evidence. Miracles and prophecies safeguardedtheauthorityof revealedreligion. So did the coherenceof the scriptures, herapid spread of the gospel, the purity of Christianprecepts, and the"benevolent"impulse of Christian social ethics. Further, he diversityneed not be so disorienting,she implied, since Christians-true Chris-tians-have agreedon several undamentaldoctrinalmatters. Modifyingslightly the famous summaryof Edward Herbertof Cherbury(1583-1648), Adams claimed that all agreethat (1) thereis a supremebeing;(2) this being is worthyof worship;(3) thatJesus is the appointedrep-resentativeof this being;(4) that therewill be some sortof resurrectionof the dead;and (5) thatvirtuewill be rewardedandvice punishedin afuturelife.

    Whetheror not she and her readers ound the defenseof Christian-ity affixed to her dictionaryreassuring,there were other theological

    6AlthoughI cannot explore this here, Adams'sDictionary rovidesan excellent angle of visionfrom which to view the increasingdiversityand shiftingcontours of Americanreligionfrom theRevolutionthroughthe Second GreatAwakening(see Adams 1992:xvii-xviii).

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    problems on the horizon. What do we make of the Jews? Scripturesprophesied,Adams believed, that the Jews would turn to Christianitybefore the end of the world and Christ's reappearance. Yet theyremainedunconverted.What, she askedherself,is the Christian'sobli-gation in this context? She had an answer: it is to help bringJews tothe true faith and so fulfill Biblicalprophecyand culminate sacredhis-tory. The entryon Adams in the Encyclopaediaudaicaclaims that herDictionarys "significant or the sympathetictone of the articleon theJews";and there is much truth n this assessment(Roth). Forexample,she seemedgenuinelydisturbedby theirhistoryof persecution. She alsoreceived informationon Judaismfrom sympatheticcorrespondents ikeHenri BaptisteGregoire(1750-1831), the famous Frenchbishop whopleadedfortolerancetowardJews. And, in fact,the accountof Judaismin Adams'ssurvey s freeof derisivecomments or demeaning abels. Ingeneral,she provideda fairportrait.Yet, in her treatment of Judaism, she also added a substantialdescriptionof "The LondonSocietyfor PromotingChristianity mongstthe Jews." This might seem odd, even condescendingor annoying,tosome modem readers,but this "benevolent"causewas dearto Adams'sheart. Like the members of this British organization,Adams was"devoutlywaiting for the redemptionof Israel"(1816:3). This hope,togetherwith her admiration or Jewish persistenceand her sorrowatJewish suffering, helped animate her long labors on her two-volumestudy of the history of that religion. TheHistoryof theJews rom theDestructionofJerusalem o the PresentTime,published in the UnitedStates in 1812 and later in British and German editions, was wellreceived. In particular, he membersof the Londongroup praisedherwork. Adamscorrespondedwith its membersandleaders,and she evenestablished an Americanbranch. On 5 June 1816, the yearbefore thelast edition of her Dictionary ppeared,Adams founded "The FemaleSocietyof Boston and the Vicinityfor PromotingChristianityamongstthe Jews" (Societies). She acted as its correspondingsecretary. Hercommitmentto this cause did not disable her as a scholar. As I haveindicated,and others have noted, Adams'sdepictionof Judaismin herDictionaryertainlywas not hostile. Yet,to the attentivereader,herpas-sionateconcernto bringtheJews to Christianitywas not entirelyhiddeneither.

    For Adams, Islam did not fit into the divine plan in quite the waythat the Jews did. Her coveragereflectedthat belief. Yet Adams didinclude seven entries on Islam. She acknowledged the two mainbranches of Islam in one-line descriptionsunder "Schaites"(Shi'ites)

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    and "Somnites" Sunni). Two importantIslamic movementsare men-tioned as well. Adams offered a fifty-fiveline account of Sufism, theIslamic mystical tradition. Incorporatingmore recent developments,Adams also recounted he historyandbeliefs of the Wahhabimovement("Wahabees"). Wahhabism, which rejectedSufism, was an Islamicreform movement founded by Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (1703-92). AsAdams noted, Wahhab emphasized, among other things, the unity ofGod and condemned the growingpolytheismfoundin the popularven-eration of Muslimsaints. Butthe most important,and comprehensive,depictionof Islam was foundin the four-and-one-halfpage entryunderthe term "Mahometans."In general,Adams represented he traditionfairly. She recounted the familiar details of Muhammad's ife, evenofferingsome praise: "Hewas endowedwith a subtlegenius, and pos-sessed of great enterpriseand ambition." She also provideda relativelysound overviewof common Muslimbeliefs. As promised,she let adher-ents speak for themselvesby quotingfrom one originalsource.Herportraitof Islam was less hostile than that drawnby manyotherWesternersof her day,but her commitmentsand concerns found theirway into the account in small ways too. For instance, she spoke ofMuhammad's"pretensions" o a divine mission. She also anticipatedaconcern of her Christianreaders: Islamhad spreadwidely and rapidly,and some Muslims had cited this as evidenceof its veracity-as Adamsand others had pointed to Christianity's uccess to support Christianclaims to divine origin. In her main entryon Islam, Adams offeredaresponse: Muhammad's uccess was tainted. He "contrivedby permis-sion of polygamyand concubinageto make his creed palatableto themost depravedof mankind." Perpetuating nother Westernstereotype,she claimedthatthe founder also propagatedhis messageby the sword.In otherwords,Christiansneed not be disturbedby the successof Islamsince it attractedthe most undesirable persons by the most violentmeans."Heathenism"

    Beyondthe boundaries of the three Westernmonotheisticreligionslay that vastandmostlyuncharted erritoryhat Adamsand her contem-poraries called "heathenism." The more than thirty-fiveentries on"heathen"or "pagan" raditions n Adams'sDictionaryeferto the reli-gions of Asian countriesor ancientpeoples, literateand non-literate.

    Amongthe several "ancientnations"of the Middle Eastand Europethat Adams depictedwas Egypt,the most "renowned"and "refined."

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    In separate entries she also noted the religions of the Babylonians,Greeks,Canaanites,and Celts. The Celts,forinstance,were "one of theprimitivenations by which most parts of Europewere peopled." Shereferredto the Druids, the priestly class that presided over the ritualsacrificesof the Celts, in this main article and in a separateentry.Severalentriesalso dealtwith the religionsof non-literatepeoples inAfrica,the Americas,and the Pacific. Mostlybecause of recent interestshown by Christianmissionaries,Adams's account of the "SouthSeaIslanders"was relativelysubstantial. A passingreference o the signifi-cance of thunderfor nativesin Brazil s found elsewherein the volume("Brazilians"), ut the primaryaccountof the nativesof the Americas sfoundin the entryon "Indians." Thatfive-pageentrysurveysthe tradi-tions of North, Central,and South America. As expected,Adams dis-torted the beliefs and practicesof this greatvarietyof peoples in someways,but her accountwas remarkablyree of open hostility. This mightbe even more surprisingsince she would have been educated in thelocal lore of her home town, and that lore included the story of anIndianraid thatwiped out most of Medfield. We cannotknow to whatextent Adams saw native peoples as violent barbarians;but, with fewexceptions, she managed to avoid dismissive labels and derogatoryasides. (She did mention, however, "the savage tribes of Guiana.")Evenwhere her accountmightseem to lead towardnegative udgments,Adams sometimes invited the readerto pause just short of unqualifiedcondemnation. For example, she anticipatedand softened the impliedcriticismof the Amazonian tribes' use of religion to sanction war bycomparing hem to nominal Christians n the "civilized"West: "Upontheirgoing out to war they hoist at the prow of their canoes that idol,underwhose auspices they look forvictory;but like toomanyChristians,theyneverprayto theirgods, exceptin cases of difficulty,when theyfeeltheirneed of divine assistanceor support" 1817:142, emphasisadded).Adams devoted three pages to the devotions of other native peo-ples-those of Africa ("Negroes"). She failed to cite Charles deBrosses'sbook, Du cultedes dieuxfetiches,but she relied heavily on aterm that de Brosseshad introduced "fetishism") o interpret he beliefsand practicesof these tribes. She hinted that Africansapproximate hebeliefs of Westerners n theircommon affirmation f "asupremeBeing"and "a futurestate." The implication,which few of her readerswouldhavemissed,was thatthereis some hope for these non-Christians incea residueof an originalmonotheism and the distortedoutlines of rightbelief couldbe foundamongthem. Yet Adams allowed the condescend-ing and Christian-centeredperspectiveof her sources to seep into her

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    account.In its mostbenign orm, hisperspectiveieldeda portrait fexotic tribeswho worshipthe divinethrough he formsof nature-mountains,rees,and birds. In its most hostile orm,someWestAfri-cans (the inhabitants f Benin)wereportrayeds devil-worshippers.Thesepagans,Adamsand her sources eportedncredulously,ven addtotheiroffensebyportrayinghis demonicigure s-the wordwasitali-cized foremphasis-white.Some residueof incredulity,ondescension,venhostility,can befound n Adams's ccounts f Asianpeoplesandreligionsoo. Yet, ngeneral,Adamsairlyransmittedhe received nowledgeboutAsia. Inher descriptions f Asian traditions, s throughouthe volume,shealwayswas moregenerous nd udicioushan he authorshe consulted.ForAdams,and the authors he read,AsianreligionsncludedHindu-ism, Buddhism, onfucianism, aoism,andShinto.Actually,he West-ern intellectualswho read about Asian religions-and the traders,missionaries,nddiplomatswho encounteredhemdirectly-oftenhaddifficultydistinguishing mongthem. Until the middleof the nine-teenthcentury r so, "TheOrient" emained singlemassof "other-ness"-even for many of the most sophisticatedwriters. Thecommonalties,most Western nterpretersgreed, eemedmuch moreimportanthanthe differencesmong hem. TheAsianreligionswerenot-Christian.Asiansthemselveswere,well, not-us. For those inter-ested n makingmoreprecisedistinctions,he sourceswere imitedandcontradictory.Confusionspersisted.As late as 1845, for example,RalphWaldoEmerson,one of the most sympatheticnd influentialAmericantudents fAsianreligions,mistakenlydentifiedheBhagavadGitaas that "muchrenowned ook of Buddhism"Rusk3:179).Among ate-eighteenthndearly-nineteenth-centurymericans hocoulddrawdistinctions,ConfucianismndHinduismweremostwidelyknownandappreciated. ystematicradewith Chinaopened n 1784,and so Americans,specially n the major ea portsof the eastcoast,begantheirratherunsystematicntroductiono its culture.Americansinfluenced y the Enlightenmentere less enamored f Confucianismthanmanyof theirmostprominent uropeanounterparts,utstilltheyfollowed he British ndContinentalattern y celebratinghediscovery

    of a tolerant nd rational"naturaleligion"n Confucianism.Theyear1784 also was importantor the Westernawareness f Hinduism.Itwas thenthatSirWilliamJonesand a smallgroupof British entlemenfoundedhe AsiatikSociety f BengalRoyalAsiaticSociety).That oci-ety's ournalwouldhelp to introduceAmericanso Asianreligionsngeneral ndHinduismn particular.AtEzraStiles's uggestion,Adams

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    consulted thatjournal as she wrote the last two editions of her book[Stiles 1794].) Buddhism,on the otherhand, was only beginning to beunderstood. The first Pali grammar n a Europeanlanguage did notappearuntil 1826 (Burouf andLassen),and EugeneBumoufwould notpublish his pathfindingsurveyof Indian Buddhismuntil more than adecade afterAdams died. Buddhism'soriginsremainedobscured;and,as the passage from Emerson's letter indicates, interpretersoften con-fused it with Hinduism. Daoism and Shinto, the other Asian religionsknownto Adams,were notedin passingin surveysof the time;but thosetraditionsremainedrelativelyunknown until the end of the nineteenthcentury.In the first edition of her survey, Adams conflated and confinedAsian religionsin a long appendix,but by the fourth edition the treat-ment had been expanded and, in some cases, refined. Perhapsmoreimportant,Adams followed the lead of a Britisheditor of her book andinsertedseparateentriesforAsianreligions amongthe existingaccountsof Western and non-literate traditions. The arrangementhad becomealphabetical,not theological. The religionsof Asia, while still remote,finally had found a place on the map, and the fourth edition wasAdams's most textured delineationof the religiousworld. In that edi-tion, Adamscovered Asia in thirteen entries. Those entries remind usthat herworld is not ours. Her Asiais not ours. Sheignoredcompletelysome traditions hatoriginated n Asia. Forinstance,in the main entryon India ("Hindoos") she overlooked two traditions that originatedthere,Jainismand Sikhism. Adams included a separateentryforShinto("Sintoos")but not Daoism or Confucianism("Chinese")."Hindoos,"however,did receive substantialattention n a five-page

    entry. Relyingon the reportsof Baptistmissionaries and the investiga-tions publishedin AsiatikResearches,nd especiallythe pioneeringworkof SirWilliamJones,Adamsput togetheran account that includedmostof the beliefs and practicesthat had fascinated-and repulsed-earlyWestern observers. Sheclaimed,or implied,Westernparallels: In theirbelief in Brahma,the creator,Vishnu, the sustainer, and Shiva, thedestroyer,Hindus affirma "three-folddivinity." Using Western lan-guageto recordHindubeliefs, she noted that adherentsacknowledgedanumber of Vishnu's "incarnations."Hindu ritual sacrifices seemed toresemble those of the Jews. Distorting he Indiantradition,Adamsalsofollowed one sourcein reporting hat "thenecessityof some atonementfor sin is one of the prevailing deas amongthe Hindoos." As with thecontinuities she found in non-literatereligions,these parallelsbetweenHinduismand the Judeo-Christianraditionwould have reassuredher

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    readersthat there were bits of religioustruthburiedbeneath the layersof superstition.Butsome beliefs andpracticesseemedso discontinuous,and so barbaric, that interpreterscould not hide their horror. Forinstance, Adams,and otherWesterners,focusedon the practiceof sati:"There subsists to this day among the Hindoos a voluntarysacrifice oftoo singularand shocking a nature to pass unnoticed;which is that ofwives burningthemselveswith the bodies of their deceased husbands"(1817:110).Adams's Western, even explicitly Christian,outlook shaped herdescriptionof Hinduismin otherways too. She included a descriptionof Protestantmissionaryactivity n India,for instance. Even one of Hin-duism's acknowledgedvirtues,tolerance,was turnedagainstthe tradi-tion. Adams recorded Sir William Jones's observation-and there ismuch truth in it-that the lack of missionarysuccess in India could betracedto Hindus'tendencyto embraceJesusas one more incarnationofVishnu. Thatmightbe one possible strategy orincorporatingChristianand Hindubeliefs,but Adamsand most of her contemporarieswere notinterested in synthesis. They preferred conversions. Even Hinduinclusivism,then, came to be seen as an annoyingtrait.Adams's assessment of Buddhism was scattered n five entries. Itwas scatteredbecause Adams failed to see fully the connectionsamongthe various forms of Asian Buddhism. There was no single overviewarticle. Insteaddescriptionsappeared,often using differentkey terms,in portraitsof religion n Burma "Birmins"), apan("Budso"and "Jap-anese"), China ("Chinese"),and Tibet ("Thibetians"). Therewas nodiscussionof Buddhism n Indiabecause, like other Westerninterpret-ers before the mid-nineteenthcentury,Adams did not realize that the

    originsof that same tradition hat had spreadthroughoutAsia were to befoundin India. She saw thatChineseand BurmeseBuddhismhad beentransplanted romIndia. In the entryon BurmeseBuddhismshe notedthat it "originated rom the same source as the Hindoo but differs insome of its tenets." ViewingBurmeseBuddhism rom the perspectiveofIndian Hinduism, she reportedthat adherentsworship "Boodh,"theninth incarnationof Vishnu. Adams also noted the Indianroots of "thesect of Foe" (Buddhism) n China (see "Chinese"). ButWesterners ngeneral,and Adamsin particular,did not yet havethe textualsourcesorlinguisticskills to fully understandBuddhism'sIndianbeginningsor tofind the link between the teachings of China's "Foe" and Burma's"Boodh."

    Yet her evaluationof Buddhismwas more nuancedthanthat of Hin-duism. It was less consistentlyand explicitly negative. Tibetan Bud-

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    dhism, for instance, seemed only slightly worse off than RomanCatholicism. Like Western interpreters or centuries, Adams stressedthe parallels. Tibetans,of course,did not know of divine revelation nJesus, but they did have monks, beads, incense, icons, and even a"pope"(the Dalai Lama). Drawingon an interpretive raditionestab-lished by the narrativesof Jean BaptiseDuHalde(1674-1743) and PerOsbeck (1723-1805), Adamsdistinguishedbetween popular("externaldoctrine")and elite ("internal doctrine")forms of Chinese Buddhism.Adams,andthe writersshe consulted,liked the popularform much bet-ter. The "priests"of that popular Buddhism-presumably she meantPureLand-extorted moneyfrom the followers;yet, in general,that sectseemed benign, even positive. They seemed to believe in rewardandpunishment in a future life. Their ethics also seemed praiseworthy:"Theyenjoinall works of mercyand charity;and forbidcheating, mpu-rity,wine, lying, and murder;and even the takingof life fromany crea-ture." On the other hand, Adams closely followed her direct source,Osbeck,in describing he elite traditionof Chinese Buddhismas a nega-tion of all that the West held dear. "The internaldoctrineof this sect,which is kept secret from the common people," Adams reported,"teaches a philosophical atheism, which admits neither rewardsnorpunishments after death; and believes not in a providence, or theimmortalityof the soul; acknowledgesno other god than the void,ornothing;and makes the supreme happiness of mankindto consist in atotal inaction,an entire nsensibility,nd a perfectquietude."

    CONCLUSIONIn the abovepassage,and a few others,Adams seemedto violatehermethodologicalprinciplesby recording,almostword forword,mislead-ing or negative descriptions. She sometimes seemed blind to the waysin which a borrowedterm or phraseviolatedher commitment o impar-tiality. Yet, to her credit,she never treateda sect or religionmore hos-tilely than her sources had. Evenif she failed to comply fullywith herannouncedguidelines,herDictionary dvancedthe studyof religion. Itdid so because she so consistentlyapproximatedhe impartiality he had

    soughtand,even more,simplybecause she had articulated uchgoals inthe firstplace. Hercommitment o scholarlydisinterestedness, ogetherwith her careful scrutiny and critical treatmentof available sources,placed her at the forefrontof early Western efforts to understandthereligiousworld.

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    458 Journal f theAmericancademy fReligionREFERENCES

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    m A.1981 "Apples,Oranges,and Manna: ComparativeReligionRevisited."Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion49:3-22.jamin De la religion, onsideree ans sa source, esformes,et ses24-31 developpments. vols. Paris: Bosange.icy F. The Bondsof Womanhood: Women'sSphere" n New1977 England, 1780-1835. New Haven: Yale UniversityPress.1987 TheGroundingf ModemFeminism.New Haven: YaleUniversityPress.DAB Dictionary f AmericanBiography.22 vols. New York:1928-58 Charles Scribner'sSons.

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