Religion and Medicine by Elwood Worcester - Third Printing 1908
Religion and Medicine
The Moral Control of Nervous Disorders
by Elwood Worcester · Samuel McComb · Isador H. Coriat, M.D.
Third Printing · June 1908 · Hardcover
Description
Offered here is a Third Printing (June 1908) of Religion and Medicine, the foundational book of the Emmanuel Movement—the early 20th-century experiment in cooperative healing work between clergy and medical professionals centered at Emmanuel Church in Boston. The movement’s central idea was simple but groundbreaking for its time: many “nervous” and functional disorders could be helped through a combined approach of medical oversight, moral/spiritual encouragement, and what we would now recognize as early psychotherapy and suggestion-based methods.
The authors reflect that interdisciplinary spirit. Elwood Worcester (a Boston clergyman) and Samuel McComb frame the moral and spiritual dimensions of healing, while Dr. Isador H. Coriat contributes the physician’s clinical lens. Published in 1908, the book helped bring national attention to the Emmanuel Movement and became the key printed statement of its approach.
For collectors of recovery and treatment history, this title has added appeal because the Emmanuel Movement is frequently discussed as part of the broader pre-A.A. landscape of early “talking cures,” mutual support, and spiritually oriented approaches to alcoholism and nervous illness.
Edition Details
Title: Religion and Medicine: The Moral Control of Nervous Disorders
Authors: Elwood Worcester; Samuel McComb; Isador H. Coriat
Publisher: Moffat, Yard & Company (commonly listed for 1908 editions)
Printing: Third Printing — June 1908 (One month after the May 1908 First & Second Printings)
Format: Hardcover
Condition
Very Good condition with normal wear for a book this age. The cover has some rubbing/scuff marks and wear to the edges and corners of the boards. There are pencil marking on several pages in the book.
Please review all photos carefully for the most accurate representation of condition.
A cornerstone volume of the Emmanuel Movement—an early and influential attempt to unite religion, medicine, and “personal work” in the treatment of nervous disorders, and an intriguing companion for collectors of early recovery and addiction-treatment history.
