A Wholesome Cure for the Wounded Soul: Confession, Emotions, and Self in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Catholicism
This article explores how Catholic practices of auricular confession related to emotions and self in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on the situation in Belgium as a revealing case study. Relying on both prescriptive sources and depositions in criminal case records, it is arg...
| Published in: | Journal of religious history |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2018]
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| In: |
Journal of religious history
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Catholicism
/ Individual confession
/ Soul
/ Emotion
/ Self-esteem
/ History 1700-1900
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| RelBib Classification: | KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article explores how Catholic practices of auricular confession related to emotions and self in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on the situation in Belgium as a revealing case study. Relying on both prescriptive sources and depositions in criminal case records, it is argued that the sacrament of penance occupied a central place in everyday life, influencing modes of self-reflection. Penitents were to examine their conscience, practise contrition, and overcome shame, so that they could be absolved of their sins and experience relief. An analysis of these practices reveals that, starting in the late eighteenth century, confession made a turn inwards, by putting a greater stress on depth, interiority, and relief. |
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| ISSN: | 1467-9809 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religious history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/1467-9809.12455 |