What was the benevolent empire?

Answer 1

The "Benevolent Empire" was a conglomerate effort of various American Protestant denominations with the aim of developing missionary organizations to christianize America and the world at large. This movement was born in the early 19th century out of early American revivalism.

The "Benevolent Empire" had two ideological pillars:

1. The concept of "disinterested benevolence". If self-love is the root of all sin than it must be fought by seeking to serve and love others without any desire for material or spiritual recompense. The purpose was to be doing the Lord's work for its own sake and the sake of others. Samuel Hopkins was the great promoter of "disinterested benevolence".

2. The concept of "perfectionism". Adapted by Charles Finney from John and Charles Wesley, "perfectionism" taught that a sinner converted to the Lord, once sanctified, becomes perfect in motive and will, though not in fact.

A great amount of Protestant institutions and organizations, especially those in the mainstream, adopted these ideas thus aggrandizing the "Benevolent Empire" and giving it great influence and reach.