Despite deep popular interest in Mormon culture, scholars have not given significant attention to the religion's central scripture. The Book of Mormon is relevant to literary studies at a moment when the turn to religion and debates over the secularization thesis have captured scholarly attention. Until recently, scholarship on The Book of Mormon was largely polemical and divided between apologists and skeptics. The rise of the new Mormon history beginning in the 1960s helped bring studies of Mormonism tentatively into the mainstream academy. Historians and scholars of religious studies have examined the reception of The Book of Mormon, the rise of the religion in early American culture, and the story of its founder, Joseph Smith. By studying the long-neglected internal workings of the text, literary critics have the opportunity to bring new scholarly techniques to bear on this highly influential American scripture.

中文翻译：

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新的“摩门教徒时刻”？摩门教文学研究之书

尽管人们对摩门教文化有着浓厚的兴趣，但学者们并未对该宗教的中心经文给予过多关注。当转向宗教和关于世俗化论点的辩论引起学术界关注时，《摩尔门经》与文学研究相关。直到最近，《摩尔门经》的奖学金在很大程度上是辩论性的，在辩护者和怀疑者之间分配。从1960年代开始的新摩门教历史的兴起，将摩门教的研究尝试性地带入了主流学院。宗教研究的历史学家和学者研究了《摩尔门经》的接受，美国早期文化中宗教的兴起以及其创始人约瑟·史密斯的故事。通过研究长期以来被忽略的文本内部运作方式，