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| The Christian Science Sentinel | |
|---|---|
| Title | The Christian Science Sentinel |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Founder | Mary Baker Eddy |
| Founded | 1898 |
| Firstdate | 1898 |
| Company | The Christian Science Publishing Society |
| Country | United States |
| Based | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Language | English |
The Christian Science Sentinel is a weekly magazine published by The Christian Science Publishing Society that covers religious, spiritual, and healing topics from the perspective of Christian Science. Founded in the late 19th century, the magazine has published testimonies, articles, and editorials addressing spiritual healing, personal testimony, and interpretations of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It has served readers across the United States and internationally through print and digital formats, intersecting with broader currents in American religious history such as the Second Great Awakening, the rise of holiness movements, and debates involving faith healing and medical ethics.
The magazine was established in 1898 by Mary Baker Eddy under the auspices of The Christian Science Publishing Society alongside sister publications like The Christian Science Monitor and The Herald of Christian Science. Early decades saw interaction with prominent figures and events including responses to the Spanish–American War, the Progressive Era, and public controversies involving figures such as William Jennings Bryan and debates around religious liberty. Throughout the 20th century it addressed developments including World War I, World War II, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights Movement while maintaining a focus on spiritual healing and testimony that linked to Eddy’s work and institutions such as The First Church of Christ, Scientist. The magazine adapted through the Cold War, the rise of television, and the advent of the Internet, updating distribution models in parallel with publications like Time (magazine) and Reader's Digest.
The Sentinel’s stated mission aligns with the aims of Mary Baker Eddy and The Christian Science Publishing Society to elucidate Christian Science teachings. Content typically includes testimonies of healing, expositions on passages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, profiles of church members, and commentary on moral or spiritual dimensions of contemporary events such as discussions about abortion, vaccination controversies, and public health crises like COVID-19 pandemic. The magazine parallels other religious periodicals such as The Atlantic (magazine) in commentary scope albeit from a distinct doctrinal stance, and occasionally engages with themes present in works by authors like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and William James. It has featured literary and theological reflections referencing texts like the King James Bible and has dialogued indirectly with movements represented by institutions such as Harvard Divinity School and Union Theological Seminary.
Published weekly by The Christian Science Publishing Society based in Boston, Massachusetts, the Sentinel has been available in print, radio, and digital formats, following trends seen with organizations such as CNN, BBC, and National Public Radio in platform diversification. International distribution has connected it to communities in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and beyond, and it has paralleled circulation patterns seen in periodicals like The New Yorker and Time (magazine). The magazine’s production has involved printing facilities, postal distribution networks, and later online archives accessible via platforms comparable to those used by The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Over time the Sentinel has featured writings by and been edited by prominent individuals affiliated with Christian Science and allied intellectuals. Early editorial leadership intersected with the circle around Mary Baker Eddy and institutions such as The Mother Church (Boston); later contributors have included practitioners, lecturers, and authors active in the same milieu. While avoiding the celebrity roster of outlets like Vanity Fair or Rolling Stone, the magazine has nonetheless published testimonies and essays that engaged clergy, lay practitioners, and occasional dialogues touching on figures associated with public health leadership, legal debates in courts such as the Supreme Court of the United States, and cultural figures whose lives intersected with Christian Science practice.
The Sentinel has been involved in controversies typical of religious journalism, including critiques over its positions on medical care and faith healing that intersect with legal and ethical debates involving institutions such as Child Protective Services and cases adjudicated in courts like the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. It has faced criticism from medical organizations such as the American Medical Association and scholars from universities including Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University who challenge religious exemptions in public health. Public controversies have occasionally referenced high-profile incidents involving adherents and legal scrutiny in jurisdictions across the United States and internationally, mirroring tensions seen between religious publications and secular regulators in cases like Schenck v. United States and debates over freedom of religion in democratic societies.
The Sentinel’s readership historically comprised members of Christian Science congregations, practitioners, and sympathizers, as well as curious readers interested in testimonies of healing and spiritual perspective on contemporary issues. Its impact includes shaping internal discourse within institutions such as The First Church of Christ, Scientist and influencing lay practice related to prayer and healing, while contributing to the broader portfolio of Christian Science media alongside The Christian Science Monitor. Demographically, its audience has overlapped with readers of religious weeklies and specialist periodicals in the United States, United Kingdom, and Commonwealth countries, and its archives serve researchers studying religious movements, such as scholars at Yale University, Princeton University, and Oxford University.
The Sentinel is part of a family of Christian Science media that includes The Christian Science Monitor, The Herald, and radio and digital programming produced by The Christian Science Publishing Society. Adaptations and related projects have paralleled multimedia efforts by other religious organizations like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Southern Baptist Convention media arms, including online archives, podcasts, and audio recordings of testimonies and sermons. Its content has been excerpted or discussed in academic studies, documentaries, and journalistic treatments examining faith healing, religious publishing, and American religious history, intersecting with broader media histories involving outlets like PBS and ABC News.
Category:Christian Science publications Category:Religious magazines published in the United States