For millennia, man has persecuted himself for religion. This was due to his inability to accept other beliefs, which led to distrust, alarm, and suspicion. In its most extreme form, persecution resulted in expulsion from countries and genocide. However, as western man became more civilized, this behavior was deemed deplorable. Therefore, religious persecution morphed into a more socially acceptable pattern- discrimination. Thistransition stemmed from the establishment of the Constitution of the United States that guaranteed religious freedom. This reasoning is best illustrated by the trials by two religious groups, who lived at different times, in what is now the Northeastern United States. Religious instability plagued Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, as monarchs were excommunicated and countries faced both internal and external conflicts. In 1570, Catholic intolerance increased in England following the excommunication of Elizabeth I (Middleton 95). Anti-Catholicism acquired ground during the Anglo-Spanish War, as Catholic Spain crusaded against immense amounts of Protestant nations. Fearing the augmentation of Catholic rule, the English established severe penal laws, which imposed fines on Catholics attending mass and priests who were caught presiding. The Catholics felt obligated to protect their religion and sought refuge in the new world. George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, established a safe haven for Catholics in the colony of Maryland. A convert to Catholicism, Calvert was denied entry into the colony of Virginia, and obtained a charter from Charles I (McDougall 47). In 1634, the colony of Maryland was established and permitted various religious practices (MacCaffrey 270). Calvert encourag... ... middle of paper ... ...olumbia University, 1914. MacCaffrey, James. History of the Catholic Church in the Nineteenth Century (1789-1908). 2nd ed. M.H. Gill, 1910: 270. Middleton, Richard. Colonial America: a history, 1565-1776. 3rd ed. Wiley-Blackwel, 2002: 95. Quinley, Harold E. Anti-semitism in America. New Brunkswick: Transaction books, 1983: 1-10. Sarna, Jonathan D., and Jonathan Golden. "The American Jewish Experience in the Twentieth Century: Anti-semitism and Assimilation." Brandeis University: National Humanities Center: 1-2. Simmons, R. C.The American Colonies From Settlement to Independence (Norton Paperback). Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, 1981: 48. Williams, Julie Hedgepeth. Significance of the Printed Word in Early America Colonists' Thoughts on the Role of the Press. Westport, Conn: Greenwood P, 1999. Yezierska, Anzia. Bread Givers. New York: Persea Books, 1999.
Smith, Carter. Daily Life, A Sourcebook on Colonial America: The Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut 1991
Eliga H. Gould, The Persistence of Empire: British Political Culture in the Age of the American Revolution (North Carolina: Omohundro Institute, 2000),
Edward, Rebecca and Henretta, James and Self, Robert. America A Concise History. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012.
Henretta, James A., Rebecca Edwards, and Robert Self. America: A Concise History.( Boston: Bedford, St. Martin's, 2006),
During the interwar period of the twentieth century, Jewish immigrants and American born Jews faced increasing ant-Semitism and discrimination. The external pressure of anti-Semitism and discrimination led to many Jews facing internal anxieties and conflicts about being Jewish and fitting into American society. Assimilation during this period meant fitting into the white gentile majority’s standard of appearance, mannerisms, and middle class ideals. Common stereotypical images from the time depict Jews with large noses and curly hair, women were often portrayed as dominant over their Jewish husbands, and Jews were often seen as manipulative, controlling, and money grubbing. Jews’ limited social acceptance came on by completely abandoning their Jewish identity and avoiding falling into stereotypical images, which was often impossible. These external pressures and internal anxieties did not make assimilation difficult, they made it impossible. Therefore, assimilation only existed as a term and not as an achievable reality. Although many Jews tried to assimilate during the interwar period, they could not because assimilation was only an illusion, a fallacy that no Jew could achieve.
Religion was a fundamental part of colonial life, incorporated into Virginia society since the founding of Jamestown. (From Jamestown to Jefferson, 20-22). In fact, a major goal in the establishment of the colony of Virginia was to spread Protestantism, and religious ideals were incorporated into the laws and regulations by which the colony was governed. (From Jamestown to Jefferson, 25). The Church of England was the primary church in colonial Virginia and in the early days of the colony attendance at an Anglican Church was obligatory. Nonconformist denominations, such as Baptists and Presbyterians, began to grow, but they were allowed very little freedom to practice their own beliefs, and Anglicanism was enforced as the official state religion. Some choice was granted when the Crown’s Act of Toleration in 1689 allowed a degree of freedom of worship to nonconformists. (viginiamemory.com). However, members of these congregations were still required to be married in and pay taxes to the Anglican Church (virginiamemory.com). This allowed for a small measure of toleration, but did not truly institute religious freedom in the colonies. Until the Revolutionary War, the Anglican Church remained instated as the official religion on Virginia, and very little attention was given to the other denominations that were beginning to expand.
Throughout history, America has faced disagreements that led to various complications, one of them being religious freedom. Americans claimed to have always supported religious freedom and that the First Amendment backed that up. However, according to David Sehat, this was only a myth. The myth he argued that there was a moral establishment that constrained religious liberty, therefore American religious freedom was only a myth. Sehat overstated this claim because there have been many historic measures that have shown American religious liberty, such as the Second Great Awakening, the emergence of new religious movements, and religious liberty court cases.
On January 1, 1802, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut in which he stated:
If one were to ask a New York resident in the 1950’s how many people he or she would expect to be living in New York sixty years from now, he would most likely not say 20 million. Among those 20 million, it is even more unfathomable that an estimated 1.7 million Jews reside within New York City, making New York home to over a quarter of the Jews living in America today . Amongst those Jews however, how many of them consider themselves religious? Seeing that only an estimated 10 percent of Jews today classify themselves as observant, how and when did this substantial dispersion occur? The period post World War II in America presents the many different factors and pressures for Jews arriving in America during this time. Although many Jews believed America would be the best place to preserve and rebuild Jewish presence in the world, the democracy and economic opportunity resulted in adverse effects on many Jews. The rate of acculturation and assimilation for many of these Jews proved to be too strong, causing an emergence of two types of Jews during this time period. Pressures including the shift to suburbanization, secular education into professional careers, covert discrimination in the labor market and the compelling American culture, ultimately caused the emergence of the passive and often embarrassed ‘American Jew’; the active ‘Jewish American’ or distinctly ‘Jewish’ citizen, avertedly, makes Judaism an engaging active component of who and what they are amidst this new American culture.
The Young Reader's Companion to American History. Ed. John A. Garraty. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. 384+. Print.
America is constantly evolving and redefining itself. We have come to the point where we are less inclined to criticize individuals that are different from us and more inclined to embrace eachother’s eccentricities. Those who oppose a separation between church and state claim that because this country was founded on religious principles, our government should continue to base its laws on Christianity. An article entitled, “Standing up for Church-State Separation in Difficult Times,” states that, “Religious Right groups are crowing and insisting that they have some sort of mandated to make their repressive agenda the law of the land,” however, we no longer live in the 1700’s (13). Times are changing and America is no longer predominantly white, Christians. In order for America to remain the melting pot we are all so proud of, we must accommodate all beliefs. A separation between church and state is necessary if America wants to give all of its citizens their religious rights.
Lefler, Hugh T., and William S. Powell. Colonial North America. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
Taylor, Alan American Colonies: The Settling of North America, New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2001. pg. 1685-1730
Washington revealed almost nothing to indicate his spiritual frame of mind, hardly a mark of a devout Christian. In his thousands of letters, the name of Jesus Christ never appears. He rarely spoke about his religion, but his Freemasonry experience points to a belief in deism. Washington's initiation occurred at the Fredericksburg Lodge on 4 November 1752, later becoming a Master mason in 1799, and remained a freemason until he died.
A Century of Theological and Religious Studies in Britain, 1902–2007 by Ernest Nicholson 2004 pages 125–126