Cotton Mather: Spirituality, Science, and the Supernatural

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Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center/Betty Strong Encounter Center
900 Larsen Park Road
Sioux City, IA 51103

Date: February 23, 2025

Time: 02:00 pm - 03:00 pm

Dr. Scott Culpepper will present “Cotton Mather: Spirituality, Science, and the Supernatural” at 2:00 PM on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the Betty Strong Encounter Center. Admission is free with a reception to follow.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) wielded tremendous influence in colonial America as the heir to the Mather and Cotton family dynasties. He served as a Congregationalist minister at Boston’s Old North Meeting House, using his platform to address political, scientific, and social issues. Mather captured the controversies and contradictions of his age in his writings and activism. His investigations into supernatural phenomenon were conducted alongside rigorous scientific studies and public endorsement of inoculation as a means to combat smallpox.