Religion in the revolutionary era

Religion in the revolutionary era

Religion and the Revolution • Except for the great awakening, no forces of consequence had acted prior to the Revolution to break down the social, economic, and religions walls which divided the American colonies. • Indeed, there seemed to be a horror of consolidation, tending to tear down any proposals for unification. • So regnant was this feeling that the colonists, many of them loyal members of the Church of England, labored to prevent the introduction of the Anglican episcopate into America lest it begin a process of setting up a complete autocratic hierarchy with centralized authority. • Because the Church of England had such a traditionally centralized organization, it never became a popular church in colonial America even where it was established by law.

Religion and the Revolution • Background • Nevertheless, certain intellectual factors as well as economic and political, helped to prepare the way for revolution and to bind the people, out of necessity, into a confederation. • Among these were-- • the idea of fundamental law and the natural rights of the individual as guaranteed by that law; • the “social contract” idea that government is created by consent of the people; • and the idea—taught by Calvin—that when there is oppression, the representatives of the people have the right to resist.

Religion and the Revolution • Background • Three religious factors, in particular, had an important and direct bearing on the Revolution. • The first was the Great Awakening. • In this great revival, the American colonists discovered for the first time a common emotional and intellectual challenge. • Intercolonial leaders such as Edwards, Whitefield, and Tennent did much to foster cooperation and union among various religious groups and to lessen racial and denominational tensions. • This emphasis, together with an increasing shift of population throughout the colonies, helped to create a sense of rapport. • By drawing many nominal adherents of the Anglican Church into the fellowship of the evangelical denominations the revival weakened the chain which bound the colonies to England. • Since the Anglican Church was one of the principal links between England and her possessions, any noticeable decline in its strength was bound to have an effect on relations with the mother country.

Religion and the Revolution • Background 2. A second contributing factor was fear of Anglican ecclesiasticism by evangelicals. • Since colonial Anglicanism was hindered by its inability to administer confirmation and ordination in America, it was natural that from time to time some of its leaders would agitate for the establishment of an episcopate which would make these functions possible. • The sending of a bishop to America might actually have been a step toward independence, for it would have whetted the American appetite for self-rule.

Religion and the Revolution • Background 2. A second contributing factor was fear of Anglican ecclesiasticism by evangelicals. • But evangelical leaders, principally Congregationalists and Presbyterians, strongly objected to this attempt on the ground that it was another excuse for interference from the British government. • Between the years 1766 and 1775 these two denominations held joint conferences to combat ecclesiasticism; the principal effect of their meetings was to promote a more favorable attitude toward intercolonial cooperation. • While nothing came of the effort to establish an American episcopate, the discussion stirred up more discontent with England and its national church and thus indirectly contributed to the revolutionary cause.

Religion and the Revolution • Background • 3. A third factor was concern over the Quebec Act of 1774. • In 1763 England had received the French dominion in Canada as part of the settlement of the Treaty of Paris which terminated the Seven Years’ War. • In return she had agreed to extend toleration to Roman Catholics. • But eleven years later, when she included the Northwest Territory, a triangular area between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers within the boundaries of the Province of Quebec, a storm of protest was raised. • It seemed to many Protestants that Roman Catholic influence would be coming too close to New England and the Middle Colonies for comfort. • The result was mounting tension culminating in revolt.

Religion and the Revolution • Background • During the pre-revolutionary era the pulpit was the most important single force in the colonies for the shaping and controlling of public opinion. • The minister was usually the best-educated person in the community and his words were regarded as having considerable authority behind them, even when they dealt with political philosophy. • When fired with zeal to preach independence and resistance to royal authority, he could exercise a tremendous influence over his congregation. • In light of the fact that Congregationalist, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Baptist ministers were almost overwhelmingly on the side of the Revolution and that they were supported to a large extent by the Lutherans and German Reformed, one can understand the importance of the role played by the clergy in this tumultuous era.

Religion and the Revolution • Background • The attitude of the ministry is well represented in the sermons of the period. • The philosophy of John Locke is curiously blended with illustrations from the OT. • George III is reminded of the fate of Rehoboam, and communities which do not furnish their quotas of men and money to the patriot cause are reminded that the people of Meroz were cursed for similar faults. • Compelled submission to the arbitrary acts of legislators who do not represent the people is contrary to the will of God and must be resisted. • So the clergy stirred the minds of their people and fanned the flames of rebellion.

Religion and the Revolution • Background • Edmund Burke, who understood the colonies as well as any English man, reported to Parliament that the Americans were largely Protestant dissenters from the C of E. • They had grown accustomed to the freest discussion of all religious questions, and this had brought about extreme individualism. • The right of private judgment which they reserved for themseIves in spiritual matters and the right to elect and dismiss religious leaders had been carried over into politics, a fact which accounted for their pronounced liberalism. • But perhaps the most important factor in American patriotism was the conviction that from the outset God him self had guided their adventure in the new land. • Fortified by a dream and a destiny, they could not be overwhelmed.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • No religious body surpassed the Congregationalists in contributions to the revolutionary effort. • The entire force of NE was thrown into the struggle, and this force was started and controlled largely by the clergy. • One Loyalist from New York wrote to a friend in London that the NE ministers were wicked, malicious, and inflammatory; their pulpits were “converted into Gutters of Sedition” and they substituted politics for the Gospel. • Perhaps the most outspoken of these, ministers was Jonathan Mayhew of Boston, a vigorous opponent of the Stamp Act and the establishment of episcopacy in America.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • One of his best- known sermons, entitled “A Snare Broken,” was preached in Boston on May 23, 1776. • In it he said he had learned from the Bible “that wise, brave and virtuous men were always friends to liberty; that God gave the Israelites a king, or absolute monarch, in his anger, because they had not sense and virtue enough to like a free commonwealth.” • The NE clergy had plenty of opportunity to preach on civil affairs on election days, days for “fasting and humiliation,” and Thanksgiving days. • The election sermon was especially important because it was preached before the governor and the colony law-making body and then was published.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • From their studies of Locke and Milton, the ministers taught that civil government was of divine origin and that rulers derived theft power from God. • But rulers are limited by law and must not transcend their rights. • If they do so then the people have the right to resist. • The clergy could, of course, find plenty of reasons why the people should resist the tyranny of England.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • When hostilities actually broke out, the NE clergy exercised great influence in raising volunteers. • Presidents Samuel Langdon of Harvard and Timothy Dwight of Yale advocated revolution and then commended the war effort to their students. • Many ministers joined the army as chaplains or as regular soldiers. • In fact, it was quite common for a clergyman to become an officer of troops raised from his own congregation.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • The dynamic and forceful John Cleaveland of Ipswich, MA, is said to have persuaded his entire parish to enlist and then volunteered himself. • David Avery of Windsor, Vermont, on hearing about the battle of Lexington, preached a sermon in which he called his congregation to arms. • He then bade them farewell and marched away at the head of a score of volunteers, enlisting others as they went along the way. • At Beverly, Massachusetts, Joseph Willard helped to raise two companies which he escorted into battle.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • There were undoubtedly many instances in which a zealous clergyman could win more recruits than a seasoned veteran of many campaigns. • Those who could not go to war contributed much to the cause of independence through their writings and gave as liberally as their stipends would permit.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • Representative of Congregational laymen in the revolutionary era was Samuel Adams (1722-1803). • Educated at Harvard, where he had been trained in both theology and law, his thought was shaped largely by Puritanism and the natural-rights school of political philosophy. • His democratic psychology was grounded in the NE town-meeting. • He believed fervently in the sovereignty of the people and in their right to change their fundamental law, along with its interpretation and administration, whenever they desired. • This was because of his liberal faith that the people were competent to judge their own good and conduct their own affairs.

Churches and the Revolution • The Congregationalists • Samuel Adams • Through his vigorous support of the revolutionary effort he furthered the democratic ideals of his compatriots and gave added force to the doctrines being proclaimed from New England pulpits.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • As an ecclesiastical organization the Anglican Church was, of all the denominations, most loyal to the English king. • Yet out of its ranks came many of the most outspoken patriots men who would give their very lives for freedom from the tyranny of that same ruler. • Among the clergy there was a strong inclination at the beginning of the Revolution to remain loyal to the crown.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • There are very few Loyalist sermons dating from the war period now in existence. • Because of national sentiment it was extremely hazardous for a Tory minister to preach his political convictions. • In fact, Jonathan Boucher deemed it necessary to preach with loaded pistols lying before him on a cushion. • During one service he was actually forced out of his church by a band of armed men.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • In Virginia the majority of the clergy were Loyalist, though a substantial minority, perhaps one-third, was hostile to the English crown. • Among the laity of Virginia, overwhelming support was on the side of independence with only a portion adopting the opinions of the Loyalist clergy. • In the northern colonies, especially Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, the clergy were even more inclined toward loyalty to England than in the South.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • From New York the Reverend John Stuart wrote: “No class was so uncompromising in its loyalty as the clergy of the Church of Eng land in this State; and they in consequence did not fail to experience the bitter effects of their own unwise resolution.” • The Reverend Charles Inglis of Trinity Church, New York, in his “Letters of Papinian,” addressed to John Jay and the people of North America, attacked the revolutionary leaders in vehement tones: “You will find these pretended enemies of oppression the most unrelenting oppressors and their little fingers heavier than the king’s loins. . . .There is more liberty in Turkey than in the dominions of the Congress.”

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • In NE, with the exception of Connecticut, most of the clergy were forced to flee; they took refuge in New York, Canada, or England. • Those that remained followed the dictates of necessity and were known for their “peaceful submission and quiet deportment.” • Considering the fact that NE was the most zealous of all the regions in waging the war for independence, mere refusal to take a stand against the British could be viewed as a form of high treason.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • No Tory minister in the colonies labored under greater difficulties than the Reverend Samuel Seabury (1729-1796) subsequently to become bishop of Connecticut. • When the Revolution began, he was in charge of the Westchester parish in New York and was busily engaged in turning out a series of loyalist pamphlets under the pseudonym “The Westchester Farmer.” • In these pamphlets, which were written in an unusually witty and engaging manner, he attacked the Continental Congress and proposed peaceful submission to Britain.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • Later, while in Connecticut, Seabury was seized by a band of armed men and thrown into the New Haven jail on a charge of authoring the pamphlets. • After languishing in prison for a month he was released for lack of evidence. • Upon returning to New York he was severely persecuted. • Then, after the battle of Long Island in 1776, he managed to escape to the British lines. • He became a chaplain in the kings army and was assigned to a regiment of American Loyalists.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • All New York Anglicans. however, were not Loyalists. • Dr. Samuel Provoost, later to become first bishop of New York, fought on the side of the Revolution. • And it was Alexander Hamilton, a Church of England layman, who refuted the arguments made by Seabury as the “Westchester Farmer.” • Other New York Anglicans of patriotic renown were John Jay and Robert Morris.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • Philadelphia Anglicanism was more revolutionary than that of New York. • Two of its outstanding representatives were William Smith, Provost of the College of Philadelphia, and Jacob Duché, rector of Christ Church. • Duché served as the first chaplain of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, and during that time no preacher could have done more for the cause of freedom. • He is especially noted for his sermon “The Duty of Standing Fast in our Spiritual and Temporal Liberties,” preached in Christ Church on July 7, 1775. • Strangely enough, when the British captured Philadelphia he went over to their side and later fled to England where he became chaplain of an orphanage.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • One of the most faithful leaders on the American side was the Reverend William White of Philadelphia. • At the time when the revolutionary cause was closest to disaster he was offered the chaplaincy of Congress, which he accepted even though he knew that it might cost him his life if the British were victorious. • He remained as chaplain until the close of the war. • His influence had much to do with the decisions of many clergymen to serve as army chaplains, and the fact that the Anglican Church contributed the third largest number of chaplains to the patriot side was at least partially due to his efforts.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • It is significant that a large majority of Anglican laymen were patriots, while two-thirds of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were affiliated with the Anglican Church. • In general, however, Anglican laymen were very much divided in their allegiance. • In the Southern and Middle Colonies the majority were patriotic, while in New England they tended to side with the British. • In the South, most Whigs belonged to the Church of England; in New England no outstanding Whig was an Anglican.

Churches and the Revolution • The Anglicans • Yet in all fairness it should be noted that the Anglican Church had no legislative body in America through which it could have expressed a patriotic sentiment. • Its reputation was, of course, ruined by the large number of pro-British clergymen. • Nevertheless, through many laymen as well as some clergy, the church made a contribution to American independence. • One need only look at the names of a few of its distinguished members—George Washington, James Madison, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, Robert Morris, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton—to be assured of that fact.

Churches and the Revolution • The Presbyterians • It has been asserted that the “sturdy Republicanism” of the Presbyterians gave them “an influence over the course of the Revolution out of all proportion to their numbers. • Many writings of Loyalist leaders have indicated the amount of support given by Presbyterians to the patriot cause. • Joseph Galloway, a Pennsylvania Tory, said that the foes of the English government in 1774 were “Congregationalists, Presbyterians and smugglers.” • Concerning the composition of the Continental army he reported that one-fourth were natives of America, one-half were Irish, and the other fourth were English and Scottish.

Churches and the Revolution • The Presbyterians • While it is certainly true that the Presbyterian Church took its stand in favor of independence, it is worth noting that as late as 1775 the Synod of New York and Philadelphia opposed a complete break with the mother country and claimed that “it is well known to you (otherwise it would be imprudent indeed thus publicly to profess,) that we have not been instrumental in inflaming the minds of the people, or urging them to acts of violence and disorder.” • On the other hand, the Synod endorsed the Continental Congress as a body of representatives duly elected by the people and commissioned to secure and defend their natural rights. • Such action was thoroughly in harmony with the Calvinistic theory of government.

Churches and the Revolution • The Presbyterians • British officials in the Middle Colonies, however, seemed to be thoroughly convinced that the Presbyterians were responsible in large measure for the political events of the time. • John Hughes, the stamp distributor for Pennsylvania, reported in 1775 that bigoted Calvinists were “ripe for open Rebellion when they poisoned the Minds of the people enough.” • The following year the Reverend Charles Inglis, an Anglican Loyalist in New York, accused the Synod of passing a resolution to support the Continental Congress in all its measures; he was probably referring to the statement issued in 1775.

Churches and the Revolution • The Presbyterians • More malicious and unfounded was the report of missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Delaware, who claimed at the outset of the Revolution that the war had been definitely planned by Presbyterians with the object of gaining their own religious establishment. • The first religious body in the colonies to accept officially the Declaration of Independence and identify itself with the revolutionary cause was the Hanover Presbytery in Virginia. • In a statement directed to the Virginia Assembly on October 24, 1776, it declared that “we rely upon this Declaration, as well as the justice of our honorable legislature, to secure us the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of our consciences.”

Churches and the Revolution • The Presbyterians • In 1778, when the British controlled Philadelphia, the Synod was held at Bedminster because Philadelphia was “in possession of the enemy.” • It would seem definite that the Synod considered itself on the side of the Continental army. • Nor could Abigail Adams have been entirely wrong in her statement to her husband, John, that “the Presbyterian clergy are particularly active in supporting the measures of Congress from the rostrum, gaining proselytes, persecuting the unbelievers, preaching up the righteousness of their cause, and persuading the unthinking populace of the infallibility of success.”

Churches and the Revolution • The Presbyterians • A considerable number of Presbyterians were leaders of the Revolution. • Many were graduates of the College of New Jersey where they had first been exposed to the principles of freedom of conscience and government by the consent of the governed. • Nine of the college’s alumni became members of the Federal Constitutional Convention in 1787, and its president, • John Witherspoon (1728-1794), a Scottish immigrant, was a memorable figure in political affairs. • So prominent was he in the movement for independence that he was characterized by John Adams as an “animated Son of Liberty.”

Religion in the revolutionary era