Religion

Religion  By: Celia Morris

Colonial Religion
The religious developement in colonial America was haphazard because every European group that settled the land wished to alter the beliefs of another group. For example the Spanish and French colonists brought the Roman Catholic religion while the Swedish and Dutch colonists brought the church of Sweden. Both of these groups attempted to convert the other to their religion. In the British colonies in the early 17th century religion was established by the law. England wanted uniformity but relinquished this because the colonies were founded by people fleeing religious persecution. The Puritans settled Massachusetts Bay Colony, believing that they were establishing an improved form of the Church of England. This produced conflict with the Separatists, who wished to sever all relations to the Anglican Church. The most prominent renegade Puitan was Roger Williams, who founded the religiously free state of Rhode Island. In addition to Rhode Island, Maryland encouraged Catholicism while Pennsylvania was at first ruled by Quakers..

**Quakers **  In England in 1652, George Fox received a vision from God. This vision lifted him out of his frustration with the failures of multiple religious groups, that had emerged in the country during the revolution of the Puritans. He preached the message of the vision throughout the country. The message he received was obedience, pacifism (no violence), rejection of oaths, and the refusal to make signs of respect to social superiors. These became the main beliefs of the Quakers, otherwise known as Friends. However, to the religious and political leaders in England this appeared to be disobedience and therefore, there was a fair amount of conflict and tension between the two groups. In 1656 the Quakers came to Boston but were immediately arrested, charged with witchcraft and shipped back. More ships full of Quakers continued to arrive, but the ships were barred from landing. The rejected Quakers then sailed for Rhode Island because it was known to be a religiously free state. Still angry with the Puritans in Boston they attempted to sway the Puritans' religious beliefs, landing four Quakers on the execution block. The unwelcome group next founded Pennsylvania in 1681 being led by William Penn. The newly colonized Pennsylvania became a refuge for persecuted religious groups. The Quakers played a large role in governing the state until the demands of running the colony threatened their religious opinions and led the Quakers to remove themselves from the assembly. The Quakers in the country held their first meeting in 1681 in New Jersey. In 1685 it combined with the meeting in Pennslvania and became "The General Yearly Meeting for Friends of Pennsylvania, East Jersey, and of the Adjacent Provinces." Today it is known as the Philadelhpia Yearly Meeting and is the oldest Quaker group in the nation. Even though Quakers settled in many parts of the South they were forced to leave because their opposition to slavery made them unwelcome. Eventually the midwest also held a large Quaker population. One important element of the Quaker religion is that women have always had an equal role in the community.

**Second Great Awakening **
In the 1790's revivalism swept over the country that would forever change the religious profile. Between 1739 and 1740 the first great awakening had spread across the colonies, preaching religious freedom. However, the Second Great Awakening included black individualists as well. It expressed the belief that individuals had the power to control their own salvation, otherwise known as the path to heaven or hell. All a person had to do was open their heart to Jesus and they would be saved. Instead of formal sermons the ministers preached as the lord moved them with passion. Along with many church services now being held there were camp meetings. In rural areas these camp meetings were a reason for thousands of people to come together in a religious and social environment. At the meeting held at Cane Ridge, Kentucky in 1801 over 12,000 people were present. The camp meetings were described as outlandish; there were frequent spectacles of people barking like dogs, sobbing in recognition of sin and shouting or screaming for the glory of God. This different form of religion impacted the frontier of the North and South, in places such as Kentucky and Tennessee. Western New York was called the "burned over district" because the fires of religion had burned over the area. In the recently settled regions of the country people were looking for order in an unstructured setting and the awakening emphasized personal discipline and shunned drinking and gambling. It also brought a large number of people into churches as well as formed groups to help aid the suffering. The emphasis on a personal relationship with God led to the Bible and Sunday Schools. The time period of the Second Great Awakening coincided with many African American slaves converting to the Baptist and Methodist faiths. The greatest impact of the revival was that it inspired developing religions and made it harder to maintain the idea of social differences and oppose the rise of equality.

toc African Methodist Episcopal Church
During the same time period as the Second Great Awakening many African American slaves became Baptists and Methodists because there were many similarities with African Religions. One similarity was the services were emotional to the point that they produced physical responses such as chanting, speaking in tongues (a spirit speaking through a human), convulsions and possessions. Another similar aspect was that Methodists and Baptists preached against those who oppressed the weak and poor, so whites and blacks mostly worshiped on equal terms within both religions. There was, however, still some opposition to accepting blacks. In 1787 when blacks were forced to sit on the balcony in a Methodist church in Philadelphia, the outraged blacks led a secession from the church. They organized a Bethel Church which followed the Methodist Church lines yet this young church was not independent from the Methodist Church until 1796. In 1816 the Bethel Church held the first meeting between the black Methodists of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland that would unite all African congregations in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). The denomination spread itself throughout the Northeast and Midwest up until the Civil War. The Methodist Church supported the abolition movement, so many churches within the denomination, such as Bethel Church, were stations on the underground railroad. After the war the AME experienced tremendous growth in the South.

Forms of Voodoo in South
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Voodou was brought to America through the slave trade, and a combination of this original African faith and Christian religions formed and prospered in areas such as South Carolina and Louisiana. This newly created religion was known as Voodoo. There are many common beliefs between Voodoo and its African origins. Both believed that one supreme God created the earth and this God cares about all creatures and expects everyone to treat each other, as well as animals and nature, with respect. Additionally, God governs the world through lower spirits, each with a specific duty, such as rainmaking, fertilizing the soil, and the production of iron. Along similar lines, the spirits of prominent community leaders linger past their death to guide society, revered as ancestors. Further, God expected people to accomplish something for the benefit of the community and these individuals would be celebrated after they passed away. This was the basis for afterlife; someone being celebrated following their death. The Voodoo that slaves practiced, inspired, protected and connected them in situations which were usually accompanied by isolation. It was unique in America for its use of "spirit guides" and ritual possession. "Spirit Guides" are defined as non humans who live as "light beings,"' or people who have lived former lifetimes and paid their karmic debts. In other words, they have paid retribution for wrongs they did in their previous lives and surpassed the need to reincarnate. Some people believe that spirit guides are chosen from the spirit world by humans who are about to embody a human form and seek assistance. In Louisiana, the Christian population, both black and white, was disturbed by Voodoo, identifying it as a pagan practice and evil or Satanic. The slave holders either threatened, forbid voodoo worship or converted their slaves to Christianity as a result of their fear. The most well-known figure of this religion in New Orleans was Marie Laveau, a free black born in 1794. She blended African traditions with Christian ones, and is recognized as the Queen of Voodoo. She worked as a hairdresser and at a bar while people sought her for help with their goals and desires. Today, people visit her gravestone, presenting offerings and pursuing blessings. She is rumored to haunt a number of locations in New Orleans, including her home, and to rise from the dead each year to lead the Saint John's Eve ceremony, around the time of the summer solstice. For years folklorists have aspired to uncover Voodoo fully - it is still bound within a seal of secrecy.

Religion in Plantations
Before 1667, christianization was an issue in the South because British law stated that Christians could not be enslaved. This made slave holders wonder whether they would be forced to free their slaves. However, in 1667 the House of Burgesses passed a law saying that religion does not change whether someone is owned by another. Still, owners did not allow their slaves to be religiously educated. For a long time the slave owners resisted converting their slaves because they were scared that Christianity would make them bold and too similar to whites. Instead the slave holders tried to eliminate African religions in order to 'break' their slaves, but some cultural elements did survive, one being the way they interpreted Christianity. In England in 1701, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts made it their goal to convince slave holders to allow their slaves to practice the Christian religion. They believed that Christianity would make slaves highly obedient. Eventually slave holders gave in and instituted missionaries within the plantations to educate their slaves in Christianity. This did not produce the outcome that the Society had predicted, instead the slaves resisted their owners efforts and began to worship on their own by singing, dancing and praying. Their introduction to Christianity brought responses such as rebellion, the most famous of which was in 1831. Nat Turner, a literate and religious slave from Southampton County, Virginia believed that he was chosen by God to lead a revolt. First he and his followers killed their owner, Joseph Travis, along with every white on the plantation. Within the course of about six hours they moved from house to house within the county, killing every white man, woman and child they came upon. By the end their group had increased to seventy and they marched twenty miles towards Jerusalem, the county capital but were attacked three miles away from the town. They fled and the revolt ended, although fifty-nine whites had been killed. The white community retaliated by killing over 100 black slaves that same day. This revolt was religiously motivated and in the minds of the Southern Whites religiously abolished.

**Justification for Slavery **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">In the South, before the Civil War, the Bible was used as a defense for slavery because it’s filled with statements about servants. An example of a biblical excuse for racially based slavery was found in the story of Noah. When the ark came to rest Noah planted grapes, became intoxicated and uncovered. Ham, the father of Canaan, discovered Noah in this state and told his two brethren. In a rage, Noah cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, saying, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” The pro-slavery interpretation of this story was that Noah’s curse turned Canaan into an African American. This meant that the Bible justified the enslavement of Africans, or the descendants of Canaan. A section in the Old Testament read that there was no death penalty for their slave dying as a result of physical punishment because no one would intentionally try to kill his slave - ‘he’s his money’. The sermons given by Southern ministers preached on the duties of a Christian master; baptizing and treating humanely, although not liberating, his slaves.



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Finkelman, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. Print <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"> //ABC-CLIO Social Studies Databases: Login//. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://www.socialstudies.abc-clio.com/MultiHome/Default.aspx>.

//Facts On File Online Databases//. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/LowerFrame.asp?DataID=0&NewItemID=True>.

"Louisiana Voodoo - Encyclopedia Article about Louisiana Voodoo." //Wikipedia (TheFreeDictionary.com Mirror)//. Web. 11 May 2010. <http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Louisiana+Voodoo>.

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