ROLE OF RELIGION - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

ROLE OF RELIGION1600-1800Slide2

OVERVIEW

1

ST

Amendment:

“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Religion’s role in government today?

What do you think?Slide3

NATIVE AMERICANS

Religious diversity in N. America before European conquerors

Spain

Forced natives to convert to Catholicism

France

Also Catholic, but not as aggressive

RESULT:

The destruction of spiritual lives in Native AmericansSlide4

AFRICAN AMERICANS

Most effective way of enduring slave conditions

Were forced to convert by their white masters

Blended African spiritual expression with the Christian religion

Effect:

Creation of rich tradition of religious expression that continues to enrich all of America Slide5

RELIGION IN THE COLONIES

Religion was most powerful force for colonization

Also major source of conflict within colonies

Church of England was the “established” church.

Meant the official church

Taxes must be paid to that church

Dissenters set up colonies elsewhere

Rhode Island, PennsylvaniaSlide6

RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

Had been oppressed by church of England

1630: Puritans set up a colony in Mass

Left England to “purify” the church and set up a “godly society”

Led by John Calvin

Believed God had already chosen the select few who would be saved

What about the rest of the people?Slide7

RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

Those “saved” called themselves “visible saints”

Sought to protect their society from being poisoned by the damned

What adjective can be used to describe them?

Patriarchal society-women not allowed in government

Invented the “town hall meeting”

Still used todaySlide8

RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

those who disagreed were banished

Roger Williams

Flees to Rhode Island

Complete freedom of worship

Separation of church and state

Salem Witch Trials 1692

Less children were claiming the vision

Puritans needed a scapegoat

2 girls claimed they could ID witches

20 women were tried and executed as witchesSlide9

QUAKERS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Believed God existed as an “inner light”

Made everyone equal in God’s eyes

No minister needed

No taxes to be paid to established church

Negotiated with Native Americans for land (

u

nlike Puritans)

Refused to serve in military

Complete freedom of worshipSlide10

FIRST GREAT AWAKENING

Movement to revitalize religion in colonies

Called Congregationalists

Led by Jonathan Edwards

Call to be “born again”

Claimed people could reach salvation without the help of clergy

most important idea from the First Great Awakening

Called for unity (first time in colonies)

Led to

foundings

of Princeton and Brown universitiesSlide11

ENLIGHTENMENTRELIGION VS REASON

First Great Awakening during Enlightenment in Europe

Enlightenment: entire universe worked according to natural laws

Movement away from superstition and toward reason

John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau

Enlightenment thinkers were DeistsSlide12

ENLIGHTENMENTRELIGION VS REASON

Enlightenment thinkers were Deists

God created world, but was not actively present in it

Mankind’s duty to discover those natural laws

Our Founding Fathers (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton) were Deists

Distrusted organized religionSlide13

RELIGION AND THE CONSTITUTION

Because of their distrust, Jefferson called for the “separation of church and state”

Remember 1

st

Amendment (no need to write this down again):

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof”

First part of it is called the Establishment Clause

2

nd

part called the Free Exercise Clause