In 1775, American colonists declared war to gain political independence from Britain. Not only were the American colonists wanting nationhood, but the belief that all men were created equal and that all people had certain rights that no one could reject. Not only was it a fight for independence and rights, but also religion played a huge role throughout the American Revolution. To start off, I will explain a little bit of background about the American Revolution. Then, I will tell about the religious movement throughout the American Revolution, such as who was involved and how did the religion impact this area during the revolution. I will also talk about important events during this time such as the Enlightenment and the Salem Witch Trials. …show more content…
The Enlightenment was a “movement to prioritize the human capacity for reason as the highest form of human attainment” (Schultz, 2016). The American Enlightenment occurred after the occurrence of the European Enlightenment. “During the 1600s most people from the Western world believed the unquestioned primacy of rulers (spiritual and secular), humans incapacity for social change, and our time here on earth is a temporary interlude on our journey toward either eternal salvation and damnation” (Schultz, 2016). Throughout this time, everyone had different religious beliefs and values. “In the 1500s, European scientists, Copernicus, who argued that the earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around, began to question these foundational beliefs” (Schultz, 2016). By the 1600s, well informed people were suggesting if natural laws protected society and the universe, and if these natural laws were able to be accessed by humans for the use of reason. “The most prominent thinkers were John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Locke believed that one’s environment was more significant than divine decree in the development of one’s character and that individuals had “natural rights” to life, liberty and property, which a king or pope could not deny. Rousseau argued that humans were born virtuous, which resulted to check for the growth of social institutions. The ideas from
Religion played a big role in the cause of the American independence movement and eventually the American Revolution. It had such a big role because because, the majority of colonists were associated with some form of Christianity. Christianity encourages its members to be free and that those who are faithful to Him, God will set free, from tyrants, oppressors, and other forms of enemies. Another way it had such a big role in causing the American Independence movement, and revolution, is that Pastors, in sermons that they preached, encouraged the colonists to fight for their freedom and that God wanted them to fight. This pushed many people to choose a side and mostly to choose the side of the Patriots. This is also seen in the sermons of many
The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this “awakening” time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparison to what they believed which was a belief of strong rational religion and morality. Enlightened society believed that the use of reason would be a catalyst of social change and had a demand of political representation thus resulting in a
The American Revolution was a war of independence between 1775 and 1783 caused by a myriad of political, economic, social and religious disputes between British and American colonies. Political representation for colonists was put into question when economic factors such as taxes came into play. A major factor that drove reform during the American Revolution was the freedom of religion. People were being limited in their participation, were forced to pay taxes on the official church and had to obey church laws. Colonists began to fight against these restrictions and eventually gained rights for people of different religion and as a result of the American Revolution, religious minorities experienced benefits such as the liberty of religion
The enlightenment was a European movement during the 17th and 18th centuries. The enlightenment wasn’t a physical movement; however, it was an intellectual movement. Most of the ideas centered around authority and legitimacy. Later these ideas may have transformed into liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state. The enlightenment was valued greatly, considering that it showed people how to think scientifically, and it also let the world understand different scientific processes. John Locke influenced Thomas Jefferson with these enlightenment writings by helping him write the Declaration of Independence because of Locke showing Jefferson that people were born with natural rights.
The Enlightenment used the scientific method and reason develop theories rather than always trusting the church. The Enlightenment affected world social and political systems so strongly that it deserves to be one of the three most important “turning points” in history, because it created freedom for the citizens,
The Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement that sparked a new way of thinking. In the 18th century, people were questioning whether the church should have the excessive amount of power it had. Since the British had the power in America, colonials were beginning to be enlightened similarly to Europeans. One of
The Age of Enlightenment served as the concrete base for America. It also served the same purpose in France. The desire for a “utopia” was what each nation wanted, as any country would. The Enlightenment promoted the individual or the idea of humanism. Humanism, which spread across Europe after the creation of the printing press, was a philosophy that no longer focused on theism but human needs. Man was no longer depending on the church for thoughts to make decisions. The idea of fearing their God and church was no longer seen as necessary. People were trying to come up with solutions through their own rational thought uninfluenced by anyone else, but themselves. Both France and the American colonies were becoming secular, though France
The foremost denominations within America before the country’s independence were Congregationalists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Quakers, Methodist and Baptists. These are referred to as the orthodox denominations. Roman Catholics were in a small community in Maryland as well has Catholic Indian missions. However, the Congregationalists, Anglicans, Quakers and Presbyterians were the raining sects in America. During the Revolution, including the Confederation years, church attendance dramatically dropped. The Enlightenment consisted of multiple philosophers that were able to convince Americans that thinking on one’s own was enough for truth and reason. The philosophers stated how the Bible was a book of contradictions; with its wisdom, in addition to mythology and irrational nonsense. After the revolution, the Anglican Church took another hit with decline in membership. Most of their ministers had been Loyalist to Great Britain during the American
The issues between the church and state contributed the American Revolution. Americans saw “the English church and crown both as hopelessly corrupt and as an imminent threat to subvert by their influence the religious superstructure of America” (Corrigan 94). Churches that focused on the individual had a better chance of surviving in America. Churches were not allowed to receive support from the state. Also, the state could not control religious institutions. The state essentially had to remain neutral to religions, because
The birth of the Enlightenment happened during the 18th Century and it emerged from Europe as an intellectual movement of writers and thinkers questioning and challenging the ideas and views that at the time was widely accepted. Especially the Catholic Church was challenged for its traditional and determined values. Their analysis of society was based on reason and rational thoughts rather than superstition and traditional ways. The movement
The term American enlightenment is an eighteenth-century movement in North America where a group of people sought enlightenment. American Enlightenment is an awakening of ideals transcendent in the subject matter of” intellectual, political, scientific, cultural, and social endeavors” (qtd. in Winterer 20 ). The term American Enlightenment within itself is two-part. The first part of American Enlightenment is an intellectual shift of ideals in the eighteenth century; a state of being.
The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this “awakening” time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparison to what they believed which was a belief of strong rational religion and morality. Enlightened society believed that the use of reason would be a catalyst of social change and had a demand of political representation thus resulting in a time
The Enlightenment age was very much an intellectual movement that grew from interrelating the theories of science, the environment and the human race (Enlightenment, 2015, para 1). The origins of this movement came from ideas that date back to the Renaissance period in the 14th century. Science became a big part of this period as people now did not just rely on the bible, they began to be inquisitive about the world around them, thus the dividing of science and religion occurred. Scientists began to ask questions about the environment around them, soon people wanted proof and reasoning, not just thoughts and ideas. Another successful idea of that time was that philosophers began to rethink the role of God and the effects on human life. People still believed in God, but the significance of religion and the role that God played in peoples daily life was not as
The Enlightenment was a period in the eighteenth century where change in philosophy and cultural life took place in Europe. The movement started in France, and spread to Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany at more or less around the same time, the ideas starting with the most renowned thinkers and philosophers of the time and eventually being shared with the common people. The Enlightenment was a way of thinking that focused on the betterment of humanity by using logic and reason rather than irrationality and superstition. It was a way of thinking that showed skepticism in the face of religion, challenged the inequality between the kings and their people, and tried to establish a sound system of ethics. The ideas behind the
By the late eighteenth century, the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason as it was called had begun to rapidly spread across Europe. People began believing in the ideals of popular government, the centrality of economics to politics, secularism, and progress. This cultural movement was sparked by intellectuals and commonwealth thinkers such as the influential writer John Locke and the famous scientist Isaac Newton, both who emphasized the fact that man, by the use of reason, would be able to solve all of his problems-whether it be problems with the government, morals or the society. However, these ideals weren’t just limited to the European nations where they had first begun. On the other side of the world, off in the United States,