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Religious Ascension: Religious energy rises in the English colonies among both the settlers and the native inhabitants. America was a refuge for those seeking the ideal of religious freedom.
Colonists possess deep faith: 80% attend church and many houses of worship are erected, each reflecting the social class of the parish (1). Native Americans also maintain a devotional culture, with creation myths and immortality beliefs, while supernatural powers are invoked to influence events, such as a fruitful harvest.
1"Religion in Eighteenth-Century America", Library of Congress, accessed June 20, 2017, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/re102.html -
Deism: a belief that God created the world, but was not a constant interventionist in events and lives. Benjamin Franklin publishes "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain" in support of this school of thought.
In deism, morality and good deeds are valued, but do not require the rules and structure of a formal church. Rigid Puritanical doctrine fades as reason becomes the popular theme. Franklin later rejects these beliefs, but Jefferson and Adams proceed to embrace the ideology, although only a small population of colonists concur(1).
1 Darren Staloff, "Deism and the Founding of the United States",Divining America, National Humanities Center,accessed June 20, 2017, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org -
The First Great Awakening: an evangelical movement that focused on salvation and God's grace, accessible to everyone. Religious fervor escalates in the colonies, especially in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New England.
This conversion experience introduced the idea of an individual's control over his own destiny. American preachers George Whitfield and John Edwards are key figures. In Edwards' famed sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", he implores, "You especially have now an extraordinary opportunity, but if you neglect it, it will soon be with you as it is with those persons that spent away all the precious days of youth in sin" (1).
1 Jonathan Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", 1741 -
Common Sense Realism: a philosophy that emphasizes man's possession of an innate moral sense and essential goodness. This theory is introduced to America by John Witherspoon, who emigrates from Scotland to serve as president of the College of New Jersey.
This school of thought emphasizes the free will of humans and their innate moral sensibility. Knowledge is gained through experience, and since mankind has the common sense of perception, he learns the world through scientific observation. This doctrine becomes the unofficial philosophy of Harvard College in Massachusetts (1).
1 George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Samport, editors, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5 (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016),PDF e-book,p. 615. -
Republicanism: an ideology that upholds the inherent rights of men to life, liberty, and property, with the government serving to protect these interests. John Adams advocated for republicanism, as it promoted a balance of power in government (1).
In republicanism, virtue was valued not as moral behavior, but rather as the placement of public interest over private needs. John Adams, in his "Thoughts on Government", proposes, "that the happiness of man, as well as his dignity, consists in virtue"(2).
1 Tony Peterson, "The Spirit of the Party: John Adams, Jonathan Sewall, and the Role of Republican Ideology in the Coming of the American Revolution", The Historian, 79, no.2(2017): 301-323.
2 John Adams,"Thoughts on Government", 1776 -
Libertarianism: the view that governmental interference in religion is a violation of citizens' rights. Virginia, led by Madison, was the first state to sever government's support of religion, passing Jefferson's "Act for Establishing Religious Freedom".
The Continental Confederation Congress injects Christianity into the government, through acts such as publishing Bibles and supplying chaplains to the military (1). Religious taxes were implemented in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, providing income to a citizen's designated church (2). Libertarians such as Madison and Jefferson opposed these actions.
1 "Religion and State Governments", Library of Congress, accessed June 22, 2017, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel.05.htm. -
The Second Great Awakening: a religious philosophy that promised the Kingdom of God on earth and the control of one's own fate. This renewed fervor doubled church membership from 1800 to 1835(1). Richard Allen founds the first African-American church (2).
The new nation faced growth, expansion, and an increased role in their government that was both exciting and stressful. Beginning in Kentucky and Tennessee, the citizens sought solace in religion, particularly in the emotional and personal practices of this Protestant evangelical movement. With an increased focus on the individual, minority groups were participants, including African-Americans and women.
1 P.Scott Corbett et al.,U.S.History.(Houston: OpenStax,2017),PDF e-book,chap.13.1.
2 Ibid. -
Transcendentalism: a philosophy that celebrates uniqueness and emotions. Although it does not peak in America until the 1820s, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent American transcendentalist, was born in Boston in 1803.
Although transcendentalism does not become popular until the 1820s, a key American proponent of the ideology, Ralph Waldo Emerson, was born in Boston in 1803. Influenced by European Romanticism, his writings emphasize the importance of non-conformity over routine American life (1). Nature as a focus of spirituality is also a focus of this intellectual movement (2).
1 Corbett et al, U.S. History, chapter 13.1.
2 Ibid.
