Religious freedom and the founding of colonial America

Religion, MORE THAN a WORD

Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of habeas corpus,...

These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation."

Thomas Jefferson (Cited by Columbia University Press)

The Word "Religion"

The word "religion" brings to mind a mixture of conflicting words such as: bondage and freedom; darkness and light; evil and good; love and hate; war and peace. The words religion and freedom, on the other hand, as presented in the introductory quote by Thomas Jefferson: "Freedom of religion...guided our steps to an age of revolution and reformation," (Ibid) complement each other. Throughout history, men have not only used religion as a reason to begin battles, they have used religious concepts to end wars. Yinger (4) discusses a number of definitions of word "religion," pointing out that not only do a number of definitions accompany the word, but along with the numerous definitions, you're also numerous motives for the many definitions. Yinger (vii) propposes that "religion is defined as the totality of man's attempts 'to bring the relative, the temporary, the disappointing, the painful things in life into relation with what is conceived to be permanent, absolute, and cosmically optimistic.'"

Pilgrims and Puritans

The Pilgrims left England, their homeland and traveled to America in 1620, searching for religious freedom, all the while determining to secure the freedom to choose the religion they believed was best for them. Groups like the Puritans and Quakers founded America's first 13 colonies on principles of their religious beliefs. Ironically, despite their quest to escape persecution, some persecution still occurred in the colonies. (www.geocities.com/lawandabrewer_uncp"Brewer, Jaques, Jones, and King) Puritans, who traveled to Massachusetts in 1620, consisted of English Protestants who reportedly aimed "to reform and purify the Church of England of what they considered to be unacceptable residues of Roman Catholicism." (Crossing in the ocean...) During the 1620s, however, English state and church leaders began to challenge Puritan demands and insisted the Puritans conform to religious practices they hated. Many Puritan ministers who do not "reform," were removed from their offices and threatened with "extirpation from the earth." (Ibid) Puritan laymen who continued to display their religious zeal were routinely brutally punished. In 1630, one man: "was sentenced to life imprisonment, had his property confiscated, his nose slit, an ear cut off, and his forehead branded 'S.S.' (sower of sedition)." (Ibid)

Theologically, Puritans were identified as: "non-separating Congregationalists." Starting in 1630, as they sought to gain the freedom to choose how to worship God, as many as 20,000 Puritans immigrated to America from England. Although a number of the Puritans travelled to and settled in the West Indies, the majority of these individuals settled in New England. Puritans, unlike that Pilgrims, believed the Church of England, even though it needed to be reformed, constituted a true church. Each New England Congregational church, deemed an independent entity, was not accountable to any hierarchy. Initially, members of the Puritans sect consisted of men and women who experienced a spiritual conversion experience. Puritan leaders hoped that in time, England would imitate their church model.

The Puritans, however reportedly thought others ought to worship what they perceived to be the right way; the Puritan way: or in other words - their way. To help ensure their religion, Puritanism, reined in the new world, a number of individuals who did not conform were "fined, banished, whipped, and even imprisoned for not conforming to the way of the Puritans." (Ibid)

CHAP. XXXIII. - of the Last Judgment (the Westminster Confession)

During 1649, the Act Concerning Religion considered by some to be one of the greatest additions to the freedom of religion in America, was enacted. The following figure relates the first segment of the Maryland Act of Religion (1649) (Johnson):

Assembly Proceedings, April 2-21, 1649

Enacted and made at a General Sessions of the said Assembly held at St. Marys on the one and twentieth day of April Anno Dom. 1649 as followeth viz:

An Act Concerning Religion

Forasmuch as in a well governed and Christian Commonwealth matters concerning Religion and the honor of God ought in the first place to bee taken, into serious consideration and endeavoured to bee settled. Be it therefore ordered and enacted by the Right Honorable Cecilius Lord Baron of Baltimore absolute Lord and Proprietary of this Province with the advise and consent of this Generall Assembly. That whatsoever person or persons within this Province and the Islands thereunto belonging shall from henceforth blaspheme God, that is Curse him, or deny our Saviour Jesus Christ to bee the sonne of God, or shall deny the holy Trinity the father sonne and holy Ghost, or the Godhead of any of the said Three persons of the Trinity or the unity of the Godhead, or shall use or utter any reproachfull Speeches, words or language concerning the said Holy Trinity, or any of the said three persons thereof, shall be punished with death and confiscation or forfeiture of all his or her lands and goods to the Lord Proprietary and his heires. And bee it also Enacted by the Authority and with the advise and assent aforesaid that whatsoever person or persons shall from henceforth use or utter any reproachfull words or Speeches concerning blessed Virgin Marv the Mother of Our Saviour or the holy Apostles or Evangelists or any of them shall in such case for the first offence forfeit to the said Lord Proprietary and his heirs Lords and Proprietaries of this Province the sume of five pound Sterling or the value thereof to be Levyed on the goods and chattells of every such person soe offending, but in case such Offender or Offenders, shall not then have goods and chattells sufficient for the satisfying of such forfeiture, or that the same bee not otherwise speedily satisfyed that then such Offender or Offenders Shall be publiquely whipt and bee imprisoned during the pleasure, of the Lord Proprietary or the Lieut. Or chief Governor of' this Province for the time being. And that every such Offender or Offenders for every second offence shall forfeit tenne Pound or the value thereof to bee levyed as aforesaid, or in case Such offender or Offenders shall not then have goods and chattells within this Province sufficient for that purpose then to bee publiquely and severely whipt and imprisoned as before is expressed. And that every person or persons before mentioned offending herein the third time, shall for such third Offence forfeit all his lands and Goods and bee for ever banished and expelled out of this Province.... (Maryland Act of Religion)

1786: Memorial and Remonstrance

Because we hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth, "that Religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence." The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in its nature an unalienable right.... (the Roots of Religious Liberty...)

1786: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do.... (the Roots of Religious Liberty...)

1813: Argument of Counsel in Defense of Seal of Confession

And whereas we are required by the benevolent principles of rational liberty, not only to expel civil tyranny, but also to guard against that spiritual oppression and intolerance, wherewith the bigotry and ambition of weak and wicked priests and princes have scourged mankind: This convention doth further, in the name and by the authority of the good people of this state, ORDAIN, DETERMINE and DECLARE, that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever hereafter be allowed within this state to all mankind. Provided, that the liberty of conscience hereby granted, shall not be so construed, as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State." (the Roots of Religious Liberty...)

1960: John F. Kennedy on Church and State believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish -- where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source -- where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials -- and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all....

This is the kind of America I believe in -- (the Roots of Religious Liberty...)

The following photos picture St. James Church, thought to have been built thought during 1711 and 1719. The church is located South Carolina's oldest Anglican parish outside of Charleston.

Figure 1 & 2: Inside and out of St. James Church (Crossing the Ocean...)

The following figure () portrays a copy of a document relating some of the Seventeenth-Century Laws of Massachusetts. During colonial days, Biblical scriptures, particularly those recorded in the Old Testament Constituted the basis for a number of criminal laws.

Figure 3: Depiction of 17th Century Laws

Crossing the Ocean...)

An Age of Revolution and Reformation by the mid-eighteenth century, religious strife, rather than religious principle, almost became endemic in America, particularly after 1720. During this time, Anglo-American political thought focused not on the right in religion, but "on stability and unity, public virtue and the common good." (Johnson) Members of society expected ministers and other community leaders to set the tone of eighteenth-century public discourse, to be examples of acceptable behavior. When these leaders engaged in public conflicts, frequently expressing anger verbally, as well as, in print, support for the religious leaders, along with their religion begin to dissipate. In time, "religion," in a sense, began to sever its relationship with the heart of America, Clifton Olmstead, author of History of Religion in United States, (Cited by Johnson) notes. The Constitution in 1777 officially designated the separation of church and state. Many groups of people, as well as a multitude of individuals, disagreed with the s official separation. One Congregationalist minister, however, related positive thoughts regarding the separation: "It cut the churches loose from dependence on state support. It threw them wholly on their own resources and on God....They say ministers have lost their influence; the fact is, they have gained. By voluntary efforts, societies, missions, and revivals, they exert a deeper influence than ever... "

Religions Contributions Include... In 1789, George Washington began his initial inaugural address with a prayer asking that God, "who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations," (Ibid) bless the new government. Washington proposed that the constitution's formal language had to be enlivened by the religious spirit. He contended that each step leading to America becoming a new nation had the touch of "providential agency." When Washington resigned from the presidential office in 1796, he prayed as numerous times before, reflecting his religious beliefs, asking God as for divine help. According to historic records, Washington argued: "Religion and morality are indispensable supports [of] political prosperity." Reason and experience, according to Washington, confirmed that Americans cannot expect virtue and morality to prevail unless they are accompanied by religious principle. (Johnson)

Religion constitutes a part of education," Benjamin Franklin, another noteworthy American, stated. It is "an element of humanity... [also] the center of everything else, always the first and the ultimate, the absolutely original." Along with fertilizing his religious thoughts, Franklin regularly related his religious beliefs in his writings: "I never was without some religious principles," he wrote. "I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that he made the world, and govern'd it by his Providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter." (Schlegel) Franklin stressed that he respected all religions in America, albeit, "with different degrees of respect..." (Ibid) When the religion appeared not to "inspire, promote, or confirm morality," Franklin argued that it would serv'd to basically divide individuals and make them "unfriendly to one another." (Schlegel)

Under the Protection of Habeas Corpus

Religion, more than any other word, yet more than a word constitutes a vital component of America's history. Throughout its developments, both positive and negative events, including the Salem Witchcraft Trials of the 1690's and the Great Awakening of the 1730's, have regularly occurred. Still, America offered a refuge for individuals of desired religious freedom. Today, religion still evokes contradictory and complimentary concepts; while religious freedom, now as back then, constitutes a concept that never needs to be taken for granted.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution-

The Roots of Religious Liberty...)

Figure 4: The Bill of Rights added to religious freedom with the First Amendment.

Works Cited www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=90445657

Bonomi, Patricia U. Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Questia. 24 Sept. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=90445659.

A www.geocities.com/lawandabrewer_uncp"Brewer, Jaques, Jones, and King. (2001). 23 Sept 2007 http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/16071783/religion.htm.

Crossing the Ocean to Keep the Faith: The Puritans. (2007) Library of Congress. 23 Sept 2007 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html.

Friedrich Von Schlegel (1772-1829), German philosopher. Idea 14 in Selected Ideas (1799-1800), Franklin, Benjamin. His Autobiography. Vol. I, Part 1. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909-14; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/1/1/.23 Sept 2007 http://www.bartleby.com/1/1/4.html.

A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002514137

Johnson, Paul. "The Organic and Moral Elements in the American Consitution - the Constitution Is a Product of Colonial Experience under British Common Law and Other Historic Traditions." World and I Feb. Questia. 24 Sept. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002514137.

Maryland Act of Religion (1649). (1999). History 41: The American Colonies. 23 Sept 2007 http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41syl99.html.

The Roots of Religious Liberty. (2007) 24 Sept 2007. http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/rightsof/roots.htm.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Speech, March 4, 1801. First Inaugural Address, the Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. 24 Sept. 2007 www.bartleby.com/66/.

The Westminster Confession of Faith. Presbyterian Church in America. 24 Sept. 2007 http://www.pcanet.org/general/cof_contents.htm.

Yinger, J. Milton. Religion in the Struggle for Power: A Study in the Sociology of Religion. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1946. Questia. 24 Sept. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=1070305.