Religious philosophy's influence on American political and social development

¶ … histories of the United States address the matter from a secular point-of-view. The government, the society, the economy and other such matters have been examined and discussed thoroughly but religion and its history has been largely ignored. Religion played an important role in the formation of the American government and played an even more important role in the development of American society, yet, studies related to how these roles developed are minimal (Eidsmoe). The purpose of this research is to examine how religious philosophy impacted on the formation of the American society and how religious philosophy developed as the young nation evolved and how religious philosophy has continued to impact American society .It is my belief that religion played a far more significant role in the formation of the United States than current history books presently represent and that, through proper and thorough research the importance of religious philosophy in the development of the political thought will be revealed (Clarke). Additionally, the research will also concentrate on how religion has continued to influence American society through the review of media, research studies, and treatises, and published works. Again, the impact of religion has been largely downplayed by many sources and it will be the goal of this study to determine the exact effect that religion has American society.

Overview of Sources

The number of sources available on this subject is limited. The passage of time has eliminated a number of the first hand sources that would best provide insight into the thinking of early Americans but there are a variety of historical treatises that provide an excellent analysis of the thinking and events that occurred in and around the activities of the late 18th century. Most of the sources utilized are published works by experts in the field of either history or religion and are well qualified to provide the information necessary to complete a proper analysis.

Topic Areas

Secularism

In completing this study a variety of different topic areas will be examined. One of the reasons that the history of Christian thought and philosophy has been afforded limited exposure is the fact that from the beginning of the foundation of this country there has been a concerted effort to maintain a separation of Church and state, particularly on the national level, and this has spilled over so that strict secularization has been applied to the reporting of our nation's history. The reasoning behind this strict adherence to secularization will be researched and how, despite attempts to limit the influence of religion, religion has still managed to play a significant role (Yinger).

Religious Freedom

What has often been overlooked is the importance of religion in the original colonization of the American continent and the United States as a government entity. Many of the first settlers came to the Americas seeking religious freedom (Noonan). As the Reformation developed in Europe, religious prosecution increased and many sought a chance to worship freely and to elect to follow whatever religious beliefs they desired. Several of the original colonies were actually founded by specific religious groups (e.g. Quakers founded Pennsylvania; Catholics founded Maryland). This practice, however, led to persecutions similar to those that the settlers were attempting to avoid in Europe to develop in the colonies. Perhaps the best example of this is the influence that the Puritans exercised in the New England colonies (Newlin). The Puritans were intent on demanding that everyone adopt their style of living and those who chose to live outside the Puritan way were often fined, banished, whipped or even imprisoned for not conforming. These practices did not last long as immigration caused the Puritan influence to wane but for a substantial period of time Puritanism reigned supreme in the New England colonies.

The Quakers establishment of a colony in Pennsylvania was instrumental in paving the way of greater religious freedom in the Colonies. The Quakers settling Pennsylvania broke the stranglehold that the Puritans had exercised and marked the way for other religions to be accepted. Soon Baptists, Roman Catholics, and other Protestant sects began to appear in the various colonies. As immigration increased, diversity in religious thought began to appear in each of the colonies and no one religion dominated any of the specific colonies. Religious freedom began to characterize life in the Colonies.

This pursuit of religious freedom was a motivating force in the decision of many settlers to immigrate to the America continent and this pursuit for religious freedom remained in their thoughts. Armed with the experience of not being free to practice their own religions in Europe, these individuals were determined to make sure that similar occurrences of religious persecution did not occur in the United States. This study will research the impact of this concern.

Religious Diversity

As religious diversity increased in the Colonies, religion began to become more important in the politics of the era (Gaustad). Early documents such as the Cambridge Platform, which was drawn up in 1648, established the Congregational Church as the form of church governance in the several of the colonies. It continued in effect in two of the colonies, Massachusetts and Connecticut through much of the 18th century and effected not only the operation of the Church in those colonies but also had an impact of the eventual separation of Church and state position that was adopted by the new United States government. Other early documents that reflected the influence of religion of the politics of the period include the Act of Concerning Religion, the Massachusetts Proposals, the Adopting Act of 1729, and, eventually, the Bill of Rights.

In this study, the impact of how American religion was transformed from a country where only a few religions were actively practiced to a nation where no particular religion dominated will be examined. In examining these various religions, it will be determined how being a nation of various religions has changed the nature of American society.

Conclusion

The purpose of this research is to examine how religious philosophy affected how the United States developed as a nation and how changes in religious philosophy have affected related changes in American society. The theory is that as the United States continued to grow and mature, the former parochialism that had characterized society and religious practices began to disappear.Religious philosophy in the United States has experienced a transformation that has gone from rigid orthodoxy as practiced by the Puritans, who first established settlements in America, through periods of religious ambivalence interspersed with periods of fundamentalism. Arguments continue as to what specific role religion should play in America and how large that role should be but the fact remains that most members of American society still consider the country as being governed in a style consistent with Judeo-Christian philosophy. This study will determine how significantly this supposed Judeo-Christian philosophy has actually impacted American society both through its formation and through its development.

Annotated Bibliography

Butler, Jon. Religion in Colonial America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

This book described the development of the various organized religions that existed in America from the period of 1500 to the present. The book attempts to dispel the idea that the Puritans were the only religion that influenced the development of early American political thought and that other religious philosophies played a significant role as well. The book explores the role that other religions such as Roman Catholics, Judaism, and other Protestant denominations played. The failure of the Puritans to achieve their goal of instituting their religious philosophy throughout the Colonies is examined as is their influence on how the doctrine of the separation of Church and state was ultimately adopted.

Clarke, P.H. "Adam Smith, Stoicism and religion in the 18th Century." History of the Human Services (2000): 49-72.

This article examines how Adam Smith was affected by the influence of Stoicism and religion but through an examination of their effect on Smith their influences, by extension, are measured on other political philosophers of the time. Religious philosophy of the time was in a period of transition. The Enlightenment had emerged and reason had become the guiding principle and religious philosophers were rushing to combine the orthodox ideology of traditional religion with the ideas of the Enlightenment. In this book, this process is explained and how it affected philosophers in the 18th century.

Eidsmoe, John. Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of our Founding Fathers. Ada, MI: Baker Academic, 1995.

This book examines the religious backgrounds of many of the Founding Fathers. The author includes detailed profiles relative to the which religious sect the chosen Founding Fathers belonged and how actively they participated in the activities of the Church. In the course of the book, events in each of the Founding Fathers are examined to provide insight into how religion affected each of their viewpoints. Through the use of personal events, the author demonstrates the importance of religion in the lives of the Founding Fathers.

Gaustad, Edwin S. And Leigh Schmidt. The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today. New York: HarperOne, 2004.

This book has been a standard research text for anyone investigating the history of religion in America. In the book the author examines how pluralism affected the historical development of religion in the United States and how religious sects transform themselves as religion became less centralized in America. The book covers the full range of religious denominations from the period preceding the Revolution through modern day and measures their effect on religious thought in the United States.

Kloppenberg, James T. "The Virtues of Liberalism: Christianity, Republicanism, and Ethics in Early American Political Discourse." The Journal of American History (1987): 9-33.

This book examines the effect of liberalism on religion in the 18th century and how it ultimately affected the development of political thought in colonial America. The author speculates as to how the competing philosophies of liberalism and orthodoxy competed to establish dominance in the formation of not only the United States government but also newly emerging religious sects.

Newlin, Claude Milton. Philosophy and Religion in Colonial America. Whtefish, MT: Literary Licensing, 2011.

In this extensive body of work, the author examines how religion in colonial religion changed over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries. He points out how the conservative religious thought that dominated the early colonial period eventually led to the more liberal thinking in the 18th century and how this contributed to the American Revolution. The author also investigates how science affected the development of religious thought in America.

Noonan, John Thomas. The Lustre of our Country: The American Experience of Religious Freedom. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.

This book provides an examination of religious freedom in America and how it influenced the politics and religion in not only America but worldwide. The concept of widespread religious tolerance was unique at the time of the Revolution and the author explains how it originated as an idea and how it has subsequently developed.

Yinger, J. Milton. "Pluralism, Religion, and Secularism." Journal for the Scientific Study of Relgion (1967): 17-28.

This book examines and compares the relationship between pluralism and secularism in the United States. In the author's view pluralism promotes religious freedom and tolerance and, contrary to popular opinion, he also argues that secularism may benefit religious organizations.

Philosophical Christian Roots