Christian Science
A American-born movement that reinterprets Christianity around the conviction that spiritual understanding — as articulated by Mary Baker Eddy — is the means to heal and to restore human well‑being.
Quick Facts
- Period
- 1879 - Present
- Region
- Americas
- Key Figures
- Augusta E. Stetson, Bliss Knapp, Mary Baker Eddy +1 more
Key Figures
Augusta E. Stetson
Controversial Leader and Preacher
Former leader of a major New York congregation; later separated from Mother ChurchAugusta E. Stetson emerged as a prominent and controversial leader within early Christian Science life, particularly kno...
Bliss Knapp
Teacher, Author, and Theologian
Christian Science teacher and writerBliss Knapp (1877–1958) was a prominent twentieth‑century Christian Science teacher, lecturer and author whose life and ...
Mary Baker Eddy
Founder
Church of Christ, Scientist; Author of Science and Health with Key to the ScripturesMary Baker Eddy is the central founder and theological architect of Christian Science. Born in New England in 1821, she ...
Septimus J. Hanna
Teacher and Early Organizer
Early Christian Science teacher and lecturerSeptimus J. Hanna was an early and influential figure in the institutional development of Christian Science in the Unite...
The Story
This narrative combines documented history with dramatized scenes for storytelling purposes.
Origins and Founding
Mary Baker Eddy’s life and teaching emerged in the specific religious and cultural landscape of nineteenth‑century New England, a region marked by revivalism, P...
Beliefs and Worldview
Christian Science articulates a distinctive theological system centered on the primacy of Spirit and the conviction, held by its adherents, that right spiritual...
Practice and Ritual Life
The lived religious life of Christian Science revolves around reading, prayer, testimony, and the communal patterns of weekly services; these elements are organ...
Authority and Transmission
Christian Science preserves and transmits its teachings through a combination of written texts, institutional practices, licensed teachers and practitioners, an...
The Tradition Today
Christian Science continues to exist as a living religious tradition with an organizational presence, a textual canon, and dispersed communities of practitioner...
Timeline
Birth of Mary Baker Eddy
**1821** — Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, was born in New England in 1821; her life and later writings would become the foundational locus for the movement that emerged in late nineteenth‑century America.
Reported Healing Experience in Lynn, Massachusetts
**1866** — Mary Baker Eddy reported a significant recovery from illness in Lynn, Massachusetts, an event she and adherents later described as the discovery of spiritual laws that would inform Christian Science’s approach to healing; historians situate this episode within the broader context of nineteenth‑century American healing movements.
Publication of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
**1875** — Mary Baker Eddy’s principal work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, was first published in 1875 and came to be read alongside the Bible as a canonical interpretive key within Christian Science.
Founding of the Church of Christ, Scientist
**1879** — The Church of Christ, Scientist was formally organized in 1879, marking the movement’s transition from classes and informal groups to an institutional denomination with congregations, governance procedures, and corporate structures.
Completion of the First Church Building in Boston (Mother Church)
**1894** — The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston — commonly called the Mother Church — completed its early church building in the 1890s; later, in the first decade of the twentieth century, a major extension was added to accommodate growth and administrative functions.
Founding of The Christian Science Monitor
**1908** — The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper intended to carry the movement’s perspectives into public journalism; it later gained a reputation for international reporting and civil‑minded editorial aims.
Death of Mary Baker Eddy
**1910** — Mary Baker Eddy died in 1910; her death brought questions about succession, textual interpretation, and institutional governance that continued to shape the movement throughout the twentieth century.
Controversy and Discipline of Augusta Stetson
**Early 1900s** — Augusta Stetson, a leading preacher of Christian Science in New York, became the focus of disciplinary action by Mother Church authorities in the early twentieth century, illustrating intra‑movement tensions over authority, doctrine, and local autonomy.
Theological Debates and Doctrinal Disputes
**Mid-20th century** — The mid‑twentieth century saw debates over doctrinal interpretation, publication of new works by Christian Science teachers, and controversies surrounding certain books and legacies that raised questions about orthodoxy and institutional boundaries.
Legal Cases and Public Health Conflicts
**20th century (various)** — Across the twentieth century, Christian Science adherents were involved in numerous legal cases concerning religious liberty and medical care, particularly regarding the medical treatment of children; these cases shaped the movement’s interaction with public law and state welfare systems.
Shifts in Membership and Institutional Adaptation
**Late 20th century** — Like many religious bodies, the Church of Christ, Scientist experienced demographic change in the late twentieth century, prompting institutional adaptation in media, property management, and outreach strategies to respond to altered patterns of affiliation.
The Christian Science Monitor Changes Daily Print Schedule
**2009** — In the early twenty‑first century the Christian Science Monitor shifted its daily print production to adapt to changing media economics and moved toward a stronger digital presence, reflecting broader changes in religious and secular publishing.
Sources
- primary_textScience and Health with Key to the Scriptures
Mary Baker Eddy’s principal theological work (first published 1875); treated as a canonical companion to the Bible within Christian Science.
- academic_bookThe Emergence of Christian Science in American Religious Life, 1875–1910
Stephen Gottschalk (1973). A standard scholarly history tracing the early institutional and theological development of Christian Science.
- biographyMary Baker Eddy
Gillian Gill (1998). A widely read biography of Eddy that combines archival research with narrative history.
- reference_workEncyclopedia of American Religions
J. Gordon Melton (ed.). A useful reference for denominational histories and statistics in American religious studies.
- academic_bookA Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion
Catherine L. Albanese. Situates Christian Science within the broader field of American metaphysical and New Thought movements.
- reference_articleChristian Science — Encyclopaedia Britannica
Concise reference overview of the movement’s history, beliefs, and institutions.
- institutional_mediaThe Christian Science Monitor
Founded 1908; historically one of the movement’s most visible public institutions and a source for understanding its public engagement.
Explore Related Archives
The creeds documented here connect to the broader record. Explore the context through our sister archives.
