The United States As We Know It Is One of the Most Diverse Yet Seemingly Unified Nations

Religion in Early America

Written by Chris Pratt

SUID 5046713

Ethics of Development in a Global Environment

Introduction

The United States as we know it is one of the most diverse yet seemingly unified nations the world has ever seen. America has long been viewed as a place that is accepting different religious practices and an advocate of religious freedom. Many came to America seeking an escape from religious persecution, and others came simply to establish and practice religion as they chose. Even the Pilgrims were looking to find a place of religious freedom. Some chose to modify existing religions, others converted to religions that better suited them, and yet others still decided create their own religions. This paper will look at worldly influences on the development of religion in early America, as well as internal influence as a result of religious interaction on American soil.

Roman Christians

Religion in the US has been influenced by a great number of cultures, some dating back hundreds even thousands of years before the colonies were established. One of the most influential societies was that of the ancient Romans. A lot of the later Roman religious ideology and cultural norms were adopted by the English, which later followed English settlers to the colonies. In 312 Constantine conquered his rival in a battle that established his authority in the Western provinces of the Empire. He believed that this victory was a direct result of the Christian God. From that day forth Constantine granted Christians the religious freedom to practice their beliefs openly, and he also restored the legal right for the Church to hold property. Licinius, the emperor of the East, also endorsed this policy, and together they vowed to uphold the principle of religious freedom for all. Constantine’s Edict of Toleration: “No one whosoever should be denied the liberty to follow either the religion of the Christians or any other cult which of his own free choice he has thought to be the best adapt for himself” (Markus, p 87). For the first time in Roman history public law embraced the idea of the state’s religious neutrality. This was one of the most significant ideas adopted by the Americans. The fact that the Constitution later specified that the church and state shall remain separate entities is one of America’s defining characteristics. Unfortunately after the reign of Constantine the state became less and less religiously neutral. State subsidies were being given to the Church, bishops were given the rights to hear legal cases, new Churches were being built at the states expense, idols were broken, and temples were destroyed. However, both the idea of religious freedom, and the idea of a religiously neutral state were Roman ideas that were later written into the United States constitution.

In addition to these ideas many European countries, which later formed after the fall of the Roman Empire, gleaned many of the Roman Christian theology regarding marriage, family, parenting, and slavery. Considering a vast majority of early colonial immigrants were from Europe these Roman Christian ideas also had a hand in shaping colonial culture. The ‘patriarchal family’ that became the Roman ideal was one quite similar to that which was depicted in the Book of Genesis, reflecting the Christian influence. One definition of the patriarchal family describes it as a “group of animate and inanimate property, of wife, children, slaves, lands, and goods, all held together by subjection to the despotic authority of the eldest male” (Westbury-Jones, p 251). This is extremely similar to a typical family unit that may have been found throughout the colonies, particularly in the south. There was even direct correlation of the roles to which each family member was assigned. The eldest white male was the head of the household and the provider; his wife was the child bearer and oversaw the upbringing of the children; male children were raised to one day take over head position or venture off and start a family of their own; female children were expected to marry out; and the slaves were primarily used for physical labor. Much of the Roman Christian doctrine regarding marriage was also carried into the colonial era. Concepts such as monogamy, adultery, and incest were ideas that were not taken into consideration prior to the time of Constantine, and as a result were major points of consideration when choosing a spouse during colonial times.

First knowing the Roman definition of a ‘person’ will give insight as to how the Romans were able to justify slavery. As defined by Westbury-Jones, a person is “capable of holding property, of having claims and liabilities” (p 325). Even amongst the free men there were different degrees of legal rights in Rome. Following the same line of thought, a slave, therefore, was considered a human being who was, legally, not a person but a thing. Slavery helped to aid in the destruction of a persons’ dignity by placing them at the same level as traded goods from a legalistic standpoint. This was also a similar tactic to that used by slave owners in the south. However, according to Roman religious laws slaves were considered people from the outset. They were allowed to join the family in worship and appeared as members of religious associations. During colonial times slaves usually practiced the same religion as their masters, generally southern Baptist or Methodist. The difference was that during colonial times slaves had to worship in a place separate from their masters, and because of this they were able to adapt their new religion to fit their prior beliefs and customs resulting in the clear distinction between the white and the black southern church. “Aristotle declared slavery to be a part of the law of nature. Zeno said that the wise man was the only man, and that the bad were slaves” (Westbury-Jones). Belief in natural and religious laws such as these help to give justification to something that would otherwise be considered immoral. By viewing slaves as objects that are lesser than other human beings or as objects that are inherently evil, the slave owner can live with a clear conscious. Beliefs systems such as this also further oppress the enslaved people by forcing them into this inferior mindset. This proved true for slaves of Roman times and of colonial times.

Although the transitions were gradual, after the death of the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 395, the fall of Roman Empire is usually denoted by the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 (Encyclopedia). Medieval Europe was far from unified; it was a large geographical region divided into smaller and culturally diverse political units that were never totally dominated by any one authority. Many of the Romans living on the outskirts of the empire simply remained there after its collapse. There was a particularly high contingency of Romans living on the island which would later be known as England. Even after the collapse of the empire Christianity remained the standard religion of Western civilization.

Church of England

Christianity, introduced by the Romans, was fairly well established in Britain by the 4th century, but was almost destroyed by the Anglo-Saxon invasions beginning in the 5th century. During the Middle Ages the church in England often opposed taxes demanded by Rome. The church in England was strongly unwilling to financially support the church in Rome because they never saw any of the benefits that arose from these taxes and were hardly associated with the Roman church other than the fact that they were required to pay them. These quarrels were not resolved until Henry VIII broke the union of the English church and Rome. The pope’s refusal to grant Henry’s request for an annulment of his marriage to Katharine of Aragon resulted in the creation of the Church of England. In 1534, the breach with Rome was completed by the Act of Supremacy, which made the king head of the Church of England (Encyclopedia). Thus the Reformation in England under Henry was initially a matter of policy, not doctrine. The theology of the new national church as shown in the Six Articles (1539) and the King’s Book (1543) was mostly unchanged, although some Lutheran influence may be detected.

After the death of Henry VIII, his son, Edward VI, took the throne at the age of nine. His reign was short, dying at the age of 15 as a result of tuberculosis, however many changes occurred during the time he was in power. The most significant of which being the growing influence of Protestantism in the government. The Act of Uniformity (1549), which required use of the first Book of Common Prayer, written by Thomas Cromwell, increased contention between Roman Catholics and reformers (Encyclopedia). Under the reign of Mary I all legislation laid down by reformers was repealed and Roman Catholicism was restored in England, and the nation was again taken into the communion of Rome. Elizabeth I brought religious and political independence back to England, and guided the church to a middle ground somewhere between Roman Catholicism and Calvinism (Encyclopedia). She eliminated practices that seemed Catholic while at the same time suppressing radical Protestant groups. In the 1580’s Queen Elizabeth I forbade meetings of Protestant separatists who were attempting to split off from the Church of England (Butler). The protestant community continued to grow large within England, and attempted to make religious reforms, however they were denied any say in the writing of King James edition. The majority of northern and eastern Europe, such as England, Germany, and Prussia, were becoming predominantly Protestant, but the southern European countries, such as Spain, France, and Italy, remained strongly Catholic.

Pilgrims and Early Immigrants

It is evident even from this brief historical run through of the Church of England that there were many competing views that fought back and forth within the church. By the 1760s there were a seemingly endless array of religious groups in America, including Anglicans, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, and Quakers – all of which are Protestant groups (Butler). However, some English Catholics endured. The most extreme group of Protestants who sought complete separation from the Church of England became known as Puritans or separatists. Puritans took after Calvinists in that they greatly stressed God’s omnipotence, salvation comes only through God’s grace, and predestination, the idea that God determines who is saved and not saved from birth. Due to the fact that they felt as if they were unable to achieve any further reformation within the Church of England, as made evident under the reign of King James I, many fled to the Netherlands. The first immigrants to the “new world” were primarily Puritans (Thompson). They originally received a charter for Virginia in 1620, but ended up landing closer to Plymouth, Massachusetts. In October 1621 the Puritans had the first Thanksgiving with neighboring Indians after they were able to renegotiate their charter with the English authorities (Butler). In the following decade more and more Puritans migrated to the new world in search of religious refuge from English persecution. A Cambridge-educated lawyer by the name of John Winthrop soon emerged as the leading figure amongst the Puritans. In 1631, the Massachusetts government, lead by Winthrop, required all voters to be members of the local Puritan congregations, later known as Congregationalists (Butler). The Puritan groups eventually began to lose influence primarily because many of the adherents drifted away from the discipline of the congregation and began abandoning the Puritan doctrine, which told them to continue to pursuit and honor God although they were unlikely to ever achieve righteousness.

Eventually, with the arrival of immigrants from regions other than England, New England became religiously diverse; however Puritan foundations were still evident. French Protestants, or Huguenots, began to settle in the New England after being ran out of France as a result of King Louis XIV’s intolerance (Butler). They shocked the Puritans with “odd” traditions such as Christmas. Shortly after their arrival they began assimilating with English and other European settlers. They became merchants, artisans, and farmers, embracing cultural matters regarding religion, family, and slavery.

By the early 1700’s German-speaking immigrants were the largest groups arriving from Europe. The majority of German immigrants were Lutherans or German Reformed. The German Reformed Church was the second largest church of German-speaking immigrants behind the Lutheran Church. German Reformed were Calvinists who believed in predestination, similar the English Puritans, however, they never formed the strict demanding congregations that seemed to spawn from New England.

Jews began to permanently settle in the colonies during the 1680’s. The first Jewish immigrants came as refugees from Brazil after the Dutch colony there was captured by the Portuguese (Butler). Methodists were among the last of the English groups to arrive in the colonies. The name Methodist came from “emphasis on a ‘method’ of regular prayer, devotional reading, and contemplation that drew participants closer to God and led to a personal experience of religious conversation” (Butler, p 85). Presbyterians, Quakers, and Baptists coming from Scotland, Ireland, and Whales added to the already diverse group of congregations found in the colonies at the time.

Religious Persecution

Virtually every immigrant to arrive in the “New World” was attempting to escape an oppressing force, find freedom and opportunities, or a combination of the both. The colonies served as a refuge for those being persecuted because of race, religion, gender, or beliefs that differed from those of the persecutor. From the time of the Pilgrims (Puritans who came to America in search of religious freedom from the Church of England) the colonies became known as a place where religious diversity was accepted, although there was persecution of different religious groups within the colonies.

The Huguenots fled France in the 1680s when King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes that had previously given the Huguenots at least limited freedom to worship. Jews came in from all over the world seeking solace from persecution. As a result of religious, economic, and political problems Irish Catholics made up half of the immigrant population by the 1840s. “Pushed out of Ireland by religious conflicts, lack of political autonomy and dire economic conditions, these immigrants were pulled to America by the promise of land ownership and greater religious freedom” (Library of Congress). After centuries of conflict with the Protestants, Irish Catholics came to America in search of freedom. However, they found similar anti-Catholic and even anti-immigrant views produced by groups such as the Nativist American Party. Although America was considered to be a religious safe haven to most, there were still remnants of the same discrimination and persecution that most sought to escape.

Native Religion

Prior to the arrival of the pilgrims the American Indians had already well established a breathtaking number of different cultures and religions. Most historians estimate that there were upwards of 500 independent cultures and religions that existed before the contact of Europeans. Many of these Native American religions did not separate the sacred from the secular. As described by Butler, Native Americans “often believed that they shared the world with supernatural beings and forces who rewarded them and punished them and whom they encountered directly and indirectly through nature” (p 19). Native American religion often focused on maintaining an intimate relationship with nature, and ensuring that the ecosystem remained in a healthy balance. Things such as the act of hunting or even the simple act of cutting down a tree were religious events. Shamans, who also served as medicine men and women, were similar to priest, except instead of interpreting the relationship between humans and God, they interpreted the relationships between humans and natures spirits.

A great number of settlers came to see the lands as sacred, and some even practice Native religions, preferring native freedom to Christian regulations. On the other hand, with the abundance of missionaries that came over during colonial times, many Native Americans not only converted to Christianity, but adopted much of the settlers’ culture. Some Native Americans fought against the emerging nation and all that it stood for, and others became such a part of colonial America that they fought along side the colonists in the American Revolution (Bourne).

Religion from Asia

Asian religions did not begin to be recognized until the late 1800’s. Hinduism began to expand after Swami Vivekananda visited the United States in 1893. Buddhism and other eastern Asian religions were practiced even earlier, although they were hardly practiced by people outside of their ethnic group. Many Chinese immigrants came to the US in 1852 during the California gold rush where they became well known for their work on the building of the railroads. With them they brought a culture that was vastly different from any which had been seen by the European settlers and Native Americans. There became a great distaste for Chinese immigrants amongst American labor workers because of their willingness to work for low wages, causing many employers to higher them over an American-born worker or forcing them to take lower wages. This could have been part of the reason eastern Asian religions did not become as wide spread as some of the other European religions. Also the fact that East Asian religions for the most part were not evangelistic is another reason religions such as Buddhism were generally constrained to Asian ethnic groups.