In 1637, Anne Hutchinson stood trial before the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During her examination, she confessed that she had experienced an “immediate revelation” from God. She described hearing “the voice of his own spirit to my soul.” After discussion with authorities, John Winthrop concluded that “…this is the thing that hath been the root of all the mischief.” She was found guilty and banished from the colony. In 1775, Freeborn Garrettson had a similar mystical experience. “In the night I went to bed as usual, and slept till day break: just as I awoke, I was alarmed by an awful voice, ‘Awake, sinner, for you are not prepared to die.’ This was strongly impressed on my mind, as if it had been a human voice as loud as thunder.” Shortly thereafter he went on to have a conversation with God which, despite verbal interruptions from the devil, resulted in his conversion. Like Hutchinson, Garrettson experienced an immediate revelation from God. Unlike Hutchinson, Garrettson was not banished for the experience. In fact, he chose to publish it and went on to become a key figure in the rise of Methodism in the United States. In the years between Hutchinson’s trial and Garettson’s conversion, American religion had changed. Democracy had changed it. While the impact of religion on democracy has been well documented, it is difficult to trace the impact of democracy on religion. Nevertheless, historians like Nathan Hatch argue that democracy was a significant influence on the development of American religion. Hatch identifies three marks of democratic spirit found in early American religious movements – redefined leadership, acceptance of spiritual experience, and grand ambitions. All three are exempli... ... middle of paper ... ... Antinomianism in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1636-1638. Boston: John Wilson and Son, 1894. Bangs, Nathan. . Vol. The Life of Rev. Freeborn Garrettson: Compiled from His Printed and Manuscript Journals, and Other Authentic Documents. New YorkT: J Cullord, 1829. Fea, John. Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Griffith, R. Marie. American Religions: A Documentary History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Hatch, Nathan O. The Democratization of American Christianity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. Lyerly, Cynthia Lynn. Methodism and the Southern Mind, 1770-1810. Religion in America Series. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Noll, Mark A. The Old Religion in a New World: The History of North American Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2002.
Eugene D. Genovese, “Religion in the Collapse of the American Union,” in Religion and the American Civil War, ed. Randall M. Miller (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 43-73.
Winthrop, John. “Winthrop’s Journal “History of New England” 1630-1649. Vol. I. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1908 http://www.archive.org/details/winthropsjournal00wint. Web. 1 Feb 2014
May, Henry F. The Recovery of American Religious History. The American Historical Review. Vol. 70, No. 1. 1964.
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
At this time in our nation's history, two-hundred thirty years and counting, there is a great debate raging on. In many peoples' eyes our country has made a turn for the worse. We have thrown our Forefather's to the wayside, and there belief in strong Christian influence along with it. To them all could be solved if we merely "re-instituted" the Christian morals and teachings that this country was founded on. On the other hand, there are many who are calling for the complete and utter extraction of all Christian and other religious beliefs from public life and governmental law. To these individuals nothing good and beneficial can ever come from religion. Both of these belief structures are sadly flawed to their very core. But where is the middle ground and why haven't we been able to find it. This is precisely where Jon Meacham's American Gospel shines like no other. If nothing else Meacham's book is an answer to the times. American Gospel covers religion, philosophy, and ideology that shaped American law and thought from the birth of our rich and diverse nation to the time of the Reagan presidency.
Walters, Kerry S. The American Deists: Voices of Reason and Dissent in the Early Republic. Lawrence: UP of Kansas, 1992.
Brinkley’s section titled “Religion and Revivalism” discussed the effects the American Revolution had on religion, and how, within the beginning years of America, new religions began to emerge. “Deism” is the religion that Brinkley focused on first, and he described how Deism originally began “among Enlightened philosophers in France” and then spread to the “educated American [such] as Jefferson and Franklin” (pg 154). He also described how Deists did believe in a God; however, people considered Him “a remote ‘watchmaker’” who left humans to their own devises after the creation of the universe (pg 154). Because of the emergence of Deism, American society, however new, shifted due to the fact that the younger generations left the more traditional
Conceived in Doubt by Amanda Porterfield was a good book overall, Porterfield talks about Christianity and its role in the American government in the 1700’s. The overall impression on the book is that Porterfield had written it very well. Porterfield gave a lot facts that accompanied many of her main ideas throughout her book. Amanda Porterfield is a scholar who had gone to Stanford University. Her passions for early American history came from many of her teachers. The purpose of the book was to inform the reader of how religion is connect to early American history starting in the
Semonche, John E., Religion and Constitutional Government in the United States; A Historical Overview with Sources. North Carolina: Signal Books, 1986. Print
Sweet, Leonard I. Communication and Change in American Religious History. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1993.
When viewing the history of the United States of America and that of its revolution, it is plain to see that the United States owes a large amount of credence to its religious aspirations. The colonies were vibrant in religious practices. Some were more fundamentalist and some were more lax in their convictions. The one thing that was common though is that there was dissention and rebellion in their roots.
In the summer of 1634, Anne Hutchinson emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in order to attain religious freedom. Her resolve was deeply galvanized by Reverend John Cotton, who was a minister in the Boston area, and she became passionately involved in the Church. Through her extensive religious study, she came across some issues in the teachings of the Puritan Church, so she began to hold discussions at her home about the sermons. Both women and men attended these conferences, and Anne Hutchinson was soon to be criticized by the Puritan Church (Paul P. Reuben). The Church said that a woman could not speak out, and that she must stop scrutinizing their teachings. But Anne Hutchinson did not back down; she stood up taller. ...
Hicks Laurel, Thompson George T., Lowman Michael R., Cochran George C.. American Government and Politics in the Christian Perspective. Florida: Beka Book Publications, 1984.
Sweet, William Warren. Religion on the American Frontier, 1783-1840: Vol. IV, The Methodists: A Collection of Source Material. New York: Cooper Square, 1964.