The Mary Baker Eddy Library Collections

James Albins

The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity opened its doors a little over a year ago, and for the first time, researchers and the general public were introduced to the library’s rich trove of primary source material.

The Christian Science religion, as discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, refers to the universal, practical system of spiritual, prayer-based healing, available and accessible to everyone. The Church of Christ, Scientist, consists of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, and about 2,000 branch churches of Christ, Scientist, worldwide in 80 countries.

Recently, the library invited three scholars—Ann Braude of Harvard Divinity School, David Hufford of Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, and Judith Wellman of the State University of New York at Oswego—to delve into its thousands of manuscripts, photographs, letters, and artifacts and assess the research potential of the collections in the areas of women’s history, religious history, and spirituality and health. In October of 2003, they presented their initial findings.

According to Stephen Danzansky, the library’s CEO, Braude, Hufford, and Wellman have confirmed that these thousands of letters, photographs, and documents hold “enormous research potential for fields as diverse as ethnic and social history, U.S. population and migration patterns, complementary and alternative medicine, the study of ‘lived religion,’ women’s history, and even the history of the field of psychology.”

In her comments, Ann Braude noted that the emergence of Christian Science as a religious movement coincides with the development of modern historical consciousness. As a result, the collection is characterized by precise language and attention to accurate documentation—and, thus, is an unusually thorough record of individual decisions and church activities both in Boston and throughout the nation.

Braude identified two major themes within the collections with substantial research potential—the study of pluralism and diversity and the study of “lived religion” and religious practice—and suggested they offer research opportunities ranging from the study of the demographics of the membership to the faith’s encounters with the issues of American religious diversity. As an example, she noted the 1893 encounter between Christian Science and a major event of the time—the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago—which provided “a front-row seat to inter-religious dialogue.” The documents tell a complicated and fascinating story in which Eddy and her followers worked to realize the opportunity and avoid the pitfalls offered by the World Parliament of Religions for a wider understanding of their religion.

In the field of spirituality and health, David Hufford cited numerous research opportunities: the relationship between religion and science; the philosophy of mind; mental health and the development of psychotherapy; reform efforts in health care education and practice; the medicalization of birth; and complementary and alternative medicine.

The period covered by the collections, observed Hufford, is the crucial time in the transition to “medicalized” birth in the U.S. Because Eddy had a special and continuing interest in women’s health—especially as it related to birth, obstetrics, and gynecology—the collections contain a substantial number of documents relating to birth practices in the late nineteenth century as well as Eddy’s own research and observations on the physical and metaphysical issues associated with the birth process.

According to Hufford, the collections also contain “a wealth of commentary, clippings, reminiscences, and first person observations” on the interplay among various approaches to medical practice and the emergence of biomedicine. Documents exist on a variety of nineteenth-century healing traditions including homeopathy, magnetic healing, and dietetics, such as the Graham system.

The collections are especially rich in the area of gender studies. Eddy believed in the absolute equality of men and women, and her teachings directly attacked the idea of separate spheres. Nevertheless, Eddy’s correspondence also documents how she and her followers encountered resistance to gender equality and how she often balanced her appointment of men and women to leadership positions based on a practical response to a given situation.

To encourage further study in the collections, the library has inaugurated a program of summer research fellowships. Available for one to twelve weeks during the summer of 2004, the fellowships are intended to support significant works of scholarship that draw on the library’s strengths. The program gives special consideration to applicants who possess outstanding writing skills, evidence of previous publications, and a definite plan for publication. The fellowships are open to doctoral and postdoctoral scholars, faculty members, and independent researchers. Detailed information on the library’s holdings as well as fellowship application forms and instructions can be found on the library’s web site (<http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/>). Direct questions to <fellowships@marybakereddy library.org> or call the Fellowship Program Coordinator at (617) 450-7138. The deadline for submission of fellowship applications is February 16, 2004, and announcements of awards will be made by April 15, 2004.

James Albins is Manager of Program Development at the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity.