Section 1 25/02/2015 9:50 AM 13 Original Colonies (7/17/13) New England (4 churches, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Calvinists, reform churches, and placed a lot of value on the laypersons, who were in charge of church and so they placed value on education) there was a Calvinist wing of England s church Rhode Island o Founded by Rodger Williams o He was a separatist who eventually became a Baptist, so Massachusetts didn t like him o Founded the first Baptist church o Wanted to be in a place where religious freedom was acceptable for all but atheists o Baptists and Quakers and Anglicans o Williams called it his lively experiment o A place for distressed o Ended up becoming a seeker, always searching for his one true church o Brown University was founded by the Baptists Massachusetts o Congregationalist establishment (got its name from Methodist, each congregation ruled itself) o Harvard University (was Congregationalist, but moved to Unitarian) Connecticut o Yale University New Hampshire o Dartmouth University Calvinist Protestants All humans are sinners since the fall of Adam and Eve Humans can do nothing to redeem themselves Salvation comes entirely through God, who in God s mercy redeem some fallen humans, the elect, while damning others, the reprobate.
Right doctrine is taught by the Old and New Testaments of the bible Church governance was a debated matte among the groups Church and State New England puritans outside of RI, there was a belief of unity of church and state. Rooted in that every aspect of life should be centered around God. So civil government should be centered around covenant of God Middle colonies New York o Church of England establishment o Originally a Dutch colony, so reformed churches were apart of the communities o Church of England grew as NY became an England colony o Kings College o Settlement based on economic reasons New Jersey o Dutch colony originally, eventually became and English colony o Swedish churches eventually became church of England o Scotts brought Presbyterian influence o Diversity made it difficult for established church o Princeton University o Ruckers University Pennsylvania o Founded by William Penn, and English Quaker, as his holy experiment o Sects & Mennonites were pacifists o Only colony without a militia around American Revolution because they were Puritans o Plain meeting houses, and emphasize life together o Moravians also called Pennsylvania home, lived and worshiped simply o Love feast and evangelism was very important, and bear witness to what God is doing in your life
o Founded Bethlehem, PA o Lived and raised communally and believed in racial equality (kiss of peace) o Quakers founded by George Fox in England o Faith is something you feel, emphasize the inner light (Christ), a leveling force, very devout people, worked to eliminate social classes o Preach to awaken people s inner light, had silent worships o Sacraments are internalized o Worship the way you choose Delaware Southern Colonies Maryland o Founded Roman Catholic; Church of England colony o Some Presbyterian o Eventually became Church of England o Roman Catholics were not allowed to vote, and could not hold office, due to politics because they were loyal to the Pope o Religious freedom with political consequences o Maryland Toleration Act punishment for calling someone something offensive for their religion o Mount St. Mary s o Georgetown o John Hopkins Virginia o Church of England, primarily o Born into church of England o Church supported by taxes, and established by doctrine o Hierarchical, Anglican church o Scripture is the ultimate authority, worship governed by book of prayer, substitute words for republican words o Came to US with Jamestown o The most prominent colony during the founding North Carolina
o Church of England (nominal) o Resembled South Carolina back country o Rural and farm o Quakers, no religion, preach and baptize without a church, zealous for Church of England o Moravians in Salem o Separate Baptist movement o Latch onto fervor of second great awakening South Carolina o Church of England o A lot like Virginia and England o More toleration of non Anglican churches o Lack of pastors in back country, unchurched population o After second great awakening, this is where is was very supported Georgia o Church of England (nominal) o Buffer English from Spanish Florida, military based founding o Debtors, safe haven o Separate Baptists 7/17/13 Where the founders Christians or Deists? They were both. Deism is a belief of god but influenced by thought, reason trumps superstition Scripture is good, say that God has put in place a reasonable law, no trinity, Jesus was up for debate, say that he didn t perform miracles, no exceptions to laws of nature Take the enlightenment and tempering Christianity Jefferson was a Deist, respected Jesus, and he thought that a lot of the bible was hogwash, so he made his own bible The Jefferson Bible Didn t necessarily believe everything o Conformation: deists would seldom get confirmed o Rarely participated in communion
o Tended to be less active in the church o Religious language: didn t use Redeemer or Savior The Religious diversity in the colonies Religion in politics was considered absurd because of bringing diversity together Deism just adds another wrinkle, adds diversity within the church What could bring this diversity together? A revolution. The American Revolution was also a struggle for religious liberty; in most of the world, church and state were one The declaration of independence: tells what abuses the king imposed on Americans & said that church and crown are one Worried about English bishops coming to rule in US Established churches disestablished in the colonies after Constitution because clergy left because they were loyal to the king The founders were not happy with reverend Dushay, so Witherspoon published a catechism for the public to see o Catechism! an official expression of belief; typically a Q&A Bill of religious liberty was passed in Virginia; T. Jefferson wrote it, enforced both religious and political freedom Henry proposed just a Christianity religion of the US The Constitution o Article 6, nor religious tests to hold office o Oaths, affirm rather than swear o No proper reference to religion in the original document o 1 st amendment, congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of o Codifying religious liberty in founding document is a first in western civilization. 7/18/13 Religion in the 19 th Century 1833 all established churches were disestablished Lyman Beecher: o standing order in churches, saw preserving moral order in society, and without it there would be disorder o downfall of society starts with the downfall of the faith