One of the most unique challenges faced by Christians during
the colonial years was the internal struggles within the movement itself.
Interestingly enough, these struggles were very closely tied to pro/anti
American Revolution sentiments. In the North East or what we can call New
England territories, there continued to be struggles related to ties to the
Church of England. Why would anyone wish to identify with England and its
church with the push for liberation? Why sever ties with the people who
provided means for a new life? After all, wouldn’t that be the least these new
territories could do for the motherland? Not quite. Aside from economic
and political motivations related to the revolution, the North Eastern region
became a melting pot of diverse religions and worldviews, pre-dominantly
pro-freedom of religious liberties. In Lancaster county, Thomas Barton
described the presence of “German Lutherans, Calvinists, Mennonites, New Born,
Dunkers, Presbyterians, Seceders, New Lights, Covenanters, Mountain Men,
Brownists, Independents, Papists, Quakers, Jews.”[1] Imagine
a community in which such diverse religious worldviews are competing for space,
influence and converts.
If there was one common factor in these
struggles, it was intolerance on the part of the Church of England/Anglicans of
other religions. To make things worse, there was a lingering call for a
Anglican bishop to come into the regions to set things straight. This
intolerant attitude was antithetical to the New World experiment for which the
basis was freedom, exploration and an openness to new ideas and innovations.
Challenges by Region:
This in-fighting between the colonialists played out
in several ways across the regions: First, those holding anti-Anglican views
were seen as opposing the king of England. This resulted in persecution and
hostility. Second, Quakers in the Pennsylvania region had a pacifist worldview
which influenced their position on taking up arms. This caused the other
Protestants to resent them. Christians against Christians. Third, the charter
for Maryland given to a Catholic family would prove another example of religious
intolerance. Granted, Catholics were being persecuted back in England,
but in the New World, specifically Maryland, the Catholics were looked upon
with suspicion and seen as “idolaters.” In the Carolinas, the Anglicans
harassed the French Protestants/Huguenots, rather than welcoming them into the
territory. This intolerant attitude towards anything but classical Anglicanism
played out across the regions. For example, for his passionate deliver of his
style of Anglicanism, George Whitfield was almost excommunicated by one of his
own brothers in the gospel (a prejudice of style, delivery and ministry
accommodations). The classical Anglicans then, can be considered
exclusivists, to their own later detriment.
Of course, the Christian community faced challenges in
intercultural relationships with the native communities and minorities.
According to Linford Fisher, in the New England territories (not unlike the
other regions), missionary projects were considered failures. In describing the
exchange between the Indians and the Puritans, he places the blame at the feet
of the Puritans for failed evangelisms due to “cultural insensitivity,
political complicity, and financial impropriety…;” while on the part of
the Indians, they are to be “faulted for not grasping the finer points of
Christian theology or for persisting in their traditional practices.”[2] In
the same way the Anglican approach at ministering to imported labor on
plantations and within the communities was lacking until the Methodist and
Baptists engaged that community in a more personal way and opening doors
for participation, education and leadership to minorities. In one sense,
the challenges of the religious community in these American territories were
self-inflicted. Regardless of the region, challenges should be expected from a
melting pot of peoples with diverse religious, political and economic
affiliations.
[1]
Edwin S. Gaustad and Leigh E. Schmidt, The Religious History of America,
(United States: Harper One, 2004), 93.
[2]
Linford Fisher, “Native Americans, Conversion, and Christian Practice in
Colonial New England, 1640-1730,” Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 102 Iss.1
(2009):103,
https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/229386874/fulltextPDF/1EDE109B65534C8APQ/1?accountid=12085
No comments:
Post a Comment