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History of religion in america essay
History of religion in america essay
History of religion in america essay
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One of the many constants that have remained throughout the development of history is religion. In the past, religion has been very powerful and still continues to be a broad subject and influence today. The variations of someone’s personal beliefs weren't always viewed in a positive manner. Those beliefs were some of the causes of great conflict that damaged many regions around the world. Many groups came to America in hopes of finding a religious freedom. Countless numbers of these groups were irritated with being mistreated in their homeland. They saw America as an escape from the judgment they faced. They believed that going to a new country would offer them the change they were seeking for. While the Spain and the Portuguese were unified through Catholicism, the English had a separation because of the fact that some of them were Protestants and they faced religious conflict. This crisis is what ignited the desire of America’s forefathers to start with the system of a country in which the separation of church and state, and the freedom to practice one’s faith without fear of persecution, was guaranteed. …show more content…
The Puritans did not agree with the Church of England, they believed that it was too political and wanted to get rid of practices and rules they thought were wrong. Quakers, just like the Puritans, wanted to make changes to the Church of England. They believed that priests were not necessary as a sign or part of worship and they refused to attend the church but they did believe that all people were equal. America was starting to become known as a place where people of many different religious groups could escape to and find the religious freedom they hoped
By 1763, although some colonies still maintained established churches, other colonies had accomplished a virtual revolution for religious toleration and separation of church and state. The Anglican Church was the only established denomination in England. In contrast, the colonies supported a great variety of churches. The largest were the Congregationalist, Anglican, and German churches, but many smaller denominations could be found through the colonies. In addition to this, a high percentage of Americans didn’t belong to any church. These differences could be attributed to the fact that many of the Europeans who immigrated to America didn’t fit in to or agree with the churches in their homelands.
Religion and government in England had always gone hand in hand, and if one group’s ideas did not coincide with England’s laws controlling the practice of religion, they would be denied. The unification of church and state within European countries led to many wars, resulting in massive debt. As England declared themselves a Catholic country, Protestants who did not hold the same beliefs needed a new homeland where they could be free to worship in their own way. This new homeland was America, and it allowed Protestants, now calling themselves Puritans, to practice Christianity without government interference. While original settlers came to America to create a Christian homeland where they could practice their faith how they wanted, America quickly became a homeland for religious freedom through a mixing pot of differing religions, cultures, and ethnicities, enough open land for them to exist together, and the key idea of the separation of Church and State.
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.
It is common knowledge that in the past religion and myths were just ways for societies to explain events and occurrences that citizens of ancient societies did not have enough advanced knowledge to understand. It was also used as a way to oppress others, as seen in the explanation of class order and royalty as God placing a person where they were meant to be and that there was nothing one could do about it, because who can go against God himself? Religion played an even bigger part than that though, being a large part of every person’s identity and something for a country and its people to unit over. But as society slowly aged, and governments were reorganized and re-structured, one can see a reduction in religion being a part of someone’s identity. It is hard to imagine being without an identity so it came as no surprise when, as the void left by religion was opened, people began to create an identity that had to do with different ideas and ideologies. More specifically, new political movements, ideas of nationalism, and change of social norms brought on by many writers and theorists such as Karl Marx, John Mill, and many others. The spread of such ideas was also helped by the spread of public education and rising literacy rates in western society.
Fea, John. Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.
America today has changed tremendously throughout the years not only politically but also religiously. From the first colonists who came to America for religious independence to todays melting pot of different religious and cultural backgrounds. They had to get their differences somewhere, and what better place than America. It all started in colonial America, with the first settlers. Among these colonists there are a few major names and topics that help to shape colonial America into what it is now. These individuals impacted America’s religious development greatly, with their new ideas and foreign advancements in religious prosperity.
Religion in the New World exploded into the land with the colonization of thousands of immigrants. It played an important role in the development of thought in the West. Religion was one of the first concepts to spark the desires of people from other countries to emigrate to the new lands. While many religions blossomed on the American shores of the Atlantic, a basic structure held for most of them, being predominantly derived from Puritanism. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, showed the link the new settlers had to God when Sir Thomas Dale said the following in 1610:
The Puritans were Englishmen who chose to separate from the Church of England. Puritans believed that the Anglican Church or Church of England resembled the Roman Catholic Church too closely and was in dire need of reform. Furthermore, they were not free to follow their own religious beliefs without punishment. In the sixteenth century the Puritans settled in the New England area with the idea of regaining their principles of the Christi...
The history of America actually begins in Europe, during a time of political tyranny and religious persecution, under an oppressive monarchy. Religious persecution began during the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547), as the king directed the establishment of a national church, and declared himself the presiding official. Subsequently (1558-1603), King Henry’s daughter, Queen Elisabeth, firmly solidified the “Church of England,” ensuring conformity of religious pursuit to the established doctrines of the Anglican Church. By the early 1600s, as the Bible became widely available to the average citizen, a public outcry demanded religious reform, and a return to less structured forms of worship. A group, labeled “Separatists,” believed the Church of England was beyond reform, and aimed to establish new congregations, basing worship, and church organization, on Biblical doc...
Religion has always played a major role in the development of human society. This is the main reason why it has so often been used for unjust purposes. The concept of war is in complete opposition to what Islam and Christianity teach their followers. Still, by different means, religion was and is often brought into play to cater for the interests of powerful people.
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.
Many of the British North Americans who settled faced religious persecution in Europe. They refused to conform to the teaching of the Church of England and fled Europe. Among those who fled were the Quakers and Puritans, two large religious groups in Britain. However, not everyone was willing to accept these religious groups in America either. Many of the Europeans already living there were of the Christian faith. They didn’t want these groups corrupting the minds of the people in their town. Because of this several religious groups started their own colonies. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maryland were founded by the Puritans, and Pennsylvania was founded by the Quakers. The Age of Enlightenment also contributed to religious toleration. The Maryland Act Concerning Religion (1644) was a breakthrough in the early history of religious freedom in America. According to Maryland Act Concerning Religion “matters concerning religion and the honor of God ought in the first place be taken into serious consideration and endeavored to be settled” (Maryland Act 28). Many colonies, however claimed to practice religious freedom, but still had an official state religion. Freedom of religion is considered to be a fundamental right. People are now able to worship whatever and whoever they choose as long as they do transgress on public
Today the controversy of the importance of Christianity to the colonists in the years preceding the American Revolution is raging. When the pilgrims moved to America, they hoped to find freedom of religion, and government. Therefore, when they left England, King James 1 wrote charters and laws for them to keep while in America. For he was technically still in charge of them, but just from afar now. One of the many charters written by the king said, “and well knowing when a people are gathered together the Word of God requires, that to maintain the peace and union of such a people, there should be an orderly and decent government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of all the people at all seasons as occasions shall require; do therefore associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one public state or commonwealth, and do, for ourselves and our successors and such as shall be adjoined to us any time hereafter, enter into combination and confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess” (fundamental orders of Conne...
Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.
For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.