从“唯上帝论”到“理性论”:美国早期新闻业的清教传统及其公共转型

From " God Only" to " Rationalism" :Puritan Tradition of Early American Journalism and its Public Transformation

美国是一个由清教徒创建并以清教意识形态为基础的基督教国家,清教在美国历史进程中发挥了基调和底色的作用。目前,学术界尚未对美国新闻业的宗教渊源展开系统性研究。本文采用历史发生学方法,分析清教传统与美国早期新闻业的互动,在清教的视野下关照美国新闻业的起源,目标是呈现出美国早期新闻业的宗教底色,进而揭示出早期新闻业清教传统的变迁和上帝角色转型的深层原因。经梳理发现,现代新闻并不是个彻底理性化的、世俗化的产品,而是有着鲜明的清教渊源,从17世纪-18世纪中后期,美国新闻业中的宗教观经历了从"唯上帝论"到"理性宗教论"的转型。

The United States is a Christian country founded by Puritans and based on Puritan ideology. Puritanism played a key role in the history of the United States. At present, there is no systematic research on the religious origin of American journalism, which affects the integrity and objectivity of the narrative of the origin of American journalism.This paper analyzes the interaction between Puritan tradition and early American journalism by using the method of historiography. From the perspective of Puritanism, this paper focuses on the origin of American journalism, aiming to show the religious background of early American journalism, and then reveals the deep reasons for the change of Puritan tradition and the transformation of God’s role in early journalism. It is found that modern news is not a completely rational and secular product, but has a distinct Christian origin. From the 17 th century to the late 18 th century, the religious concept in American journalism has experienced a transformation from "God" to "Rational Religion".