The Election Sermon
I mentioned to some folks today that it's an old tradition to have an "election sermon," and some of the people I was speaking with had never heard of this tradition, so I thought I'd do a little research and write on it. It turned out to be a lot more complicated than I thought. From how I understand what I'm reading, it seems there are two sorts of "election sermons" -- one is a sermon preached just prior to election day, and the other is called an "election sermon" but is preached before government officials but on inauguration day, which was called, confusingly, "election day." So, for example, this "election day" sermon from 1790 --
-- was preached on "the day of general election," apparently before the newly elected officials. Likewise, this Gad Hitchcock text from 1774 was preached to the elected officials on "election day." Similarly, in 1830 Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing preac…
-- was preached on "the day of general election," apparently before the newly elected officials. Likewise, this Gad Hitchcock text from 1774 was preached to the elected officials on "election day." Similarly, in 1830 Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing preac…