Religion in Colonial America: Trends, Regulations, and Beliefs
Attempted to enforce strict religious observance
Not a culture of religious unity
Religious life was haphazard and irregular
As colonies settled, influence of clergy & churches grew
Slavery shaped by religion
Degree of religious tolerance
Meetinghouse: secular & religious functions
New England PuritansGovernment theocratic: leaders’ authority from divine
guidance & civil authority used to enforce religious conformity
Mid-Atlantic and Southern ColoniesQuakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Jews,
Baptists, AnglicansChurch of England recognized by law as the state church
Great Awakening:movement challenged the clerical elite and colonial
establishment by focusing on the sinfulness of every individual, and on salvation through personal, emotional conversion
Protestant rationalism:God endowed humans with reason so that they could tell the difference between right and wrong. Knowing the difference
meant that humans made free choices to sin or behave morally