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First Charter of Virginia (London)
King James I issued a charter to the Virginia Company to establish a colony in the New World. The charter assigned land rights to the colonists for the stated purpose of propagating the Christian religion.[1] This was understood to mean the Church of England, of which all the colonists were members.
1. Virginia Charter of 1606, American Historical Documents 1000-1904, (New York, P. F. Collier & Son Company, 1909), 51. -
Establishment of Crown Colony (London)
In 1624, King James I revoked the Virginia Charter and established Virginia as a crown colony. The law mandated that Virginians worship in the Anglican church and support its upkeep with their taxes. In addition, the church had significant sway in civil matters. Religious dissenters could be fined, whipped, or jailed.
1. History.com Staff, Jamestown Colony, The History Channel, (A&E Networks, 2010). -
Toleration Act (London)
The Toleration Act allowed those that dissented from the Anglican Church to worship as they wished, but with significant restrictions. These restrictions included:
• Not allowed to hold political office;
• Still had to support the Anglican Church through taxes;
• Had to register their meeting places with the government; and
• Ministers had to be licensed.
It was unevenly applied in America.[1]
1. H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage, (Nashville, TN, Broadman Press, 1987), 252. -
First Recorded Baptist Church in Virginia (Burleigh, Virginia)
The first recorded Baptist church in Virginia was located at Burleigh, across the James River from Jamestown.[1] Its preacher was Richard Norden, who came from England to Virginia to lead the group. Norden also started two other churches in the area.
1. Robert Torbet, A History of the Baptist, (Valley Forge, PA, The Judson Press, 1969), 215. -
Baptists Along the Frontier (western Virginia)
From 1715 to 1745, other Baptists came to Virginia from Maryland and New England, settling mostly in the rural back country.[1] In the early years, there was little direct conflict with the Anglican Church – the few numbers, frontier location, and perceived simplicity of the Baptist preachers were not seen as a significant threat by the Anglican clergy.
1. Jewel Spangler, Baptists in Colonial Virginia, Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 1/20/2012. -
Crackdown on Dissident Religious Activity (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Trying to stem the impact of the Great Awakening, Virginia lieutenant governor Sir William Gooch issued a proclamation requiring local magistrates and officers to eliminate dissident religious activity.[1] Virginia Baptists were initially not a primary target of the suppression campaign, as their numbers were still small.
1. Brent Tarter, Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Sir William Gooch (1681-1751), Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 11/9/16. -
Shubael Stearns and the Baptist Revivals (southwestern Virginia)
Baptist preacher Shubael Stearns moved from New England to the western Virginia frontier, and then to North Carolina.[1] There, he built a church that quickly grew to over 600 members. Intensely evangelistic, Stearns and his followers held revival meetings and started churches throughout North Carolina and Virginia. Notably, Baptist churches were soon being established, not just in rural areas, but in the cities of south and central Virginia.
1. H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage, 227-228. -
Imprisonment of Baptist Preachers (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
In June 1768, a high-profile case occurred in Fredericksburg. Five Baptist preachers were arrested and jailed for over a month for preaching.[1] Patrick Henry defended many Baptist preachers during this time, greatly impacting his views on freedom of religion.[2]
1. Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, (Valley Forge, PA, The Judson Press, 1969), 240.
2. John A. Ragosta, Patrick Henry Proclaiming A Revolution, (New York, NY, Routledge, Taylor, and Francis Group, 2016), 36. -
Baptist Persecutions Intensify (Virginia)
The Anglican Church viewed the growing number (and proximity) of Virginia Baptists with alarm. By 1768, their campaign to eliminate dissidents was almost entirely focused on the Virginia Baptists. Between 1768 and 1776, at least thirty Baptist preachers were arrested and jailed for illegal preaching.[1] Many of the imprisoned preachers would stand at the jail window and preach to anyone that would listen. Others suffered beatings and harassment.
1. H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage, 270. -
Virginia Declaration of Rights (Williamsburg, Virginia)
The Virginia Constitutional Convention passed the Virginia Declaration of Rights, proclaiming the inherent rights of men. George Mason, the primary author, drew upon the experiences of the Virginia Baptists when he wrote Section 16, guaranteeing freedom of religion.[1] The Declaration heavily influenced later documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
1. George Mason, The Virginia Declaration of Rights, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. -
Barrow and Mintz Incident (Portsmouth, Virginia)
Baptist preachers continued to be persecuted for many years afterwards. In one noted example, Barrow and Mintz, two Baptist preachers conducting a worship service along the Nanesmond River outside Portsmouth, were assaulted by a group of twenty men. The mob dunked Mintz and Barrow in the river, dragged them through the mud and attempted to kill them.[1]
1. Dunking of Baptist Ministers, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic, Religion and the State Governments, Library of Congress. -
Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
Baptists had been demanding freedom to practice religion as they felt that God was calling them, and believed that any involvement of the government would destroy that freedom. Thomas Jefferson and others came to agree with that position. To see that those rights were codified into law, Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. [1]
1. Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Virginia Historical Society. -
Leland and Madison Discuss Ratification of the US Constitution (Fredericksburg, VA)
Baptist leader John Leland met with James Madison outside Fredericksburg to discuss concerns about ratification. Baptists were a significant voting bloc, and held the swing vote. Madison gave assurances that religious rights would be protected, and Baptists removed their opposition to the document.[1]
1. Mark S. Scarberry, John Leland and James Madison: Religious Influence on the Ratification of the Constitution and on the Proposal of the Bill of Rights, Penn State Law Review, Vol 113:3, 2008. -
The Bill of Rights (Orange, Virginia)
James Madison presented to Congress a set of amendments to the Constitution to give better protection to individual liberties. True to his word to Leland, this included a prohibition on state-established religion and a clause on religious freedom. The Bill of Rights was submitted to the states in 1789 and adopted in 1791.[1]
1. The Bill of Rights, America’s Founding Documents, National Archives. -
Virginia Has the Largest Baptist Population in the Country (Virginia)
By 1790, Virginia had the largest Baptist population of any state in America.[1] In less than ninety years, Virginia Baptists had taken a journey from a few frontier churches, to an intensely persecuted minority in the developing cities, to an influential bloc that played a key role in securing religious freedom for an entire nation.
1. Jewel Spangler, Baptists in Colonial Virginia, Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 1/20/12.
