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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2023

The Revolution of vernacular Bibles: empowering or submitting the ‘Natives’ ?

Résumé

At the turn of the 18th century, the founders of the British and Foreign Bible Society appealed to “Liberal individuals” to allow all people to get access to the Holy Scriptures in their native language. While Protestant missions acted within the scope of the British Empire, sometimes relying on its administration, their main interest remained the circulation of the Bible and its corollary, the education of all classes. In Ireland, Protestants were the first to open vernacular schools, with the support of the BFBS and of William Wilberforce, and to encourage the education of the poor. Yet, this enterprise met with resistance from Catholic elite and clergy who denounced an attempt at recolonizing Ireland. In Haiti, the revolution brought about slaves’ emancipation, but soon its leaders wondered about how to educate the “people of all ages.” Once again, the network of the BFBS got involved, thus competing with the Catholic Church on the missionary field. Relying on a large corpus of sources, this paper invites us to examine the revolution brought about by the circulation of vernacular bibles in these two islands in its social implications regarding subaltern groups, but also its political consequences in a context of imperial expansion.
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Dates et versions

hal-04300539 , version 1 (22-11-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04300539 , version 1

Citer

Karina Bénazech Wendling. The Revolution of vernacular Bibles: empowering or submitting the ‘Natives’ ?. Bible Revolution: Empowering people, subverting identities, Sidney Sussex College, Sep 2023, Cambridge, United Kingdom. ⟨hal-04300539⟩
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