The Unites States and England fought the War of 1812. After the war, the United States was going through a religious and cultural advancement. Robert “Matthias” Matthews, was a man who created his own religion during the 1830’s.It was created at an adjusting period of time for religion in the United States. Matthias’ religion became even more important to followers when the panic of 1837 took place. The panic of 1837 was a financial crisis that later lead to a major recession in the 40’s. The loss of jobs, and money people turned to their faiths for hope.
Many people in New York City followed Matthias’ religion. The Prophet was based on egalitarianism and patriarchy. This means that it is a male dominant religion where all men are equal. Women were expected to only take care of the children and clean the household. This is representative of the society in the United States in the 1830’s because the role of the male was very prominent. Similarly to the religion men were seen as more powerful in society and had more rights than women. In the book, The Kingdom of Matthias, the author speaks about Matthias and what his life was like. Using his traits and persona, the book also ties together how Robert Matthews relates to his time period. Matthias (Robert Matthews) had other aliases …show more content…
He himself does not represent an entire time period in history. He represented the Kingdom of Matthias, which had similarities to 1830s society like their view on women, but that is mainly it. He reacted to all of this power he received from his followers, especially Pierson, in a negative way. He attempted to call out Christianity and its wrongdoings and failed. He started to go on a decline shortly after this and like all cults, failed. The problem of focusing on Matthias is that he wasn’t the headline of the 1830s. He wasn’t the god everyone was praising and he didn’t really give off too much information to be able to understand his time
Many people in New York City followed Matthias’ religion. The Prophet was based on egalitarianism and patriarchy. This means that it is a male dominant religion where all men are equal. Women were expected to only take care of the children and clean the household. This is representative of the society in the United States in the 1830’s because the role of the male was very prominent. Similarly to the religion men were seen as more powerful in society and had more rights than women. In the book, The Kingdom of Matthias, the author speaks about Matthias and what his life was like. Using his traits and persona, the book also ties together how Robert Matthews relates to his time period. Matthias (Robert Matthews) had other aliases …show more content…
He himself does not represent an entire time period in history. He represented the Kingdom of Matthias, which had similarities to 1830s society like their view on women, but that is mainly it. He reacted to all of this power he received from his followers, especially Pierson, in a negative way. He attempted to call out Christianity and its wrongdoings and failed. He started to go on a decline shortly after this and like all cults, failed. The problem of focusing on Matthias is that he wasn’t the headline of the 1830s. He wasn’t the god everyone was praising and he didn’t really give off too much information to be able to understand his time