Reformation Influence On America

One of the main reasons that the settlers came and founded America was for religious freedom. Colonist made the long and dangerous journey for other reasons as well, but a major factor was the search for religious freedom. Coming to America alone did not solve this problem; the journey to religious freedom was just that, a journey. Everyone had a slightly different idea of what this new nation’s ‘religious freedom’ should look like and it took many years to come to a compromise.

Throughout the ages there have been many rebellions and revolutions overcoming corruptions of higher authorities. Two major events are the protestant reformation and the American revolution. Both set examples for generations to come in either religious freedom or politically. Of the two, the Protestant Reformation made a greater difference in the course of history with advancing religious freedom, as to where the American Revolution effected a smaller amount with political influence.

In 1517 Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation, he gave his 95 thesis to the Roman Church, people began coming to America. The Reformation also helped establish the Constitution of the United States.

In the documentary A New Eden: God in America, the class was given the opportunity to explore America’s chase to religious freedom and the political challenges it took to achieve such and opportunity where people for the first time were given a chance to seek religious faith that was not imposed upon them, but one that they can personally choose to live for themselves. The problem that would come about during the arrival Catholic immigrants’ as it was thought to believe their arrival would come to oppose the very religious they worked so hard for, while from their perspective they were merely trying to live an average life in America with all it has to offer just like everyone has. The challenge was most expressed in a judicial case of public

In Document J, titled “The Reformation,” Leonard W. Cowie lists three reasons for the Reformation. First, there was a widespread growth of education. Before the sixteenth century, literacy was uncommon.

By the middle of the 1700’s, a significant organization took place. From New England to Georgia, different groups of Baptists began to form churches. They had only one doctrinal requirement that united them, i.e., the believer’s baptism by full immersion in water; also, Baptists then had different theological doctrinal beliefs. Notwithstanding, in the 1700’s, Baptist leaders sought to unify and homogenize the Baptist theology; they founded colleges and formed associations. However, the cause of “religious liberty,” was also a unanimous and significant characteristic that united the majority of Baptists. Their participation within their communities distinguished from other denominations. The Baptists were not contending for tolerance but for absolute “religious liberty.” Theirs demand was not for their right only but for the right of all dissenters and non-conformists as well. Some historians affirm that religious liberty in America was accomplished due to the diligence of the American Baptist, which now is proven to be the greatest contribution to American science and statecraft.”11

The reputation that the Unites States has today as a world power has been cultivated over various forms of nationalism, wars, and both foreign and domestic relations. The freed Americans men had a new opportunity of establishing a new outlook on conducting world affairs. Unlike many other colonies in the Americas, the Unites States was shaped by the lack of “centuries of European religious, monarchical, and aristocratic order” (Hixson- 25). The British government did not take a deep investment in the establishment of an extensive overseas government and religion like the Spanish did in Latin America. As colonies, one of the primary goals of the Unites States was religious freedom, but only for Anglo-Saxon Christian religions.

The Protestant Reformation was one of the important iconic moments in our history, especially for women, then and now.

be regarded above all else. Some of the greatest reformation in American history was pioneered

Nineteenth century America contained a baffling cluster of Protestant factions and categories, with distinctive teachings, practices, and hierarchical structures. However, by the 1830s these bodies had a profound zealous accentuation in like manner. Protestantism has constantly contained a critical outreaching strain, yet it was in the nineteenth century that a specific style of zeal turned into the overwhelming type of otherworldly expression. What most importantly else portrayed this zeal was its dynamism, the pervasive feeling of lobbyist vitality it discharged. As Charles Grandison Finney, the main outreaching of mid-nineteenth century America, put it: "religion is the work of man, it is something for man to do." This fervent activism included a critical doctrinal move far from the predominately Calvinist introduction that had portrayed a lot of eighteenth-century American Christianity.

Hi Christopher, Excellent post this week on the Protestant Reformation, and its influence on America. Today we enjoy being able to choose what to believe and having rights to speak out against those in government if we do not agree with them. In the past for many, any actions to disagree with the state or those in power would lead to serious consequences. We owe a lot to the protestant Reformation and the ideas that came from the movement. Without these changes in the peoples thinking and those who migrated to this country, America would be unrecognizable, as we know it now.

The Protestant Reformation and European expansion have both left political, social and economic impacts throughout history. The Protestant Reformation which was started in the 1500’s, by a Catholic man named Martin Luther caused political instability and fragmented the Holy Roman Empire. It economically caused the church to go bankrupt and socially allowed for the rise of individualism among the people; Luther gave the people of Europe the long needed reason to break free of the church. The Protestant Reformation and the need for new converts lead to the rise of European expansion. European expansion into the west resulted in a political increase of power for Europe, the social increase in slavery, disease and racism, as well as the

As independent scholar Christian Dawson simply put, “The American way of life can only maintain its character within the general framework of Western Christian culture. If this relation is lost, something essential to the life of the nation will be lost. New secularist forces … would destroy the foundations on which American culture was based.” It is evident that traditionalist individuals like Dawson fear secularism and the potential threat it poses upon the conservation of the Christian faith in

The reformation, brought about by Martin Luther and his ninety-five theses in the early sixteenth century prove to have a holistic effect on shaping societies attitudes concerning law, order, and stability. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth century, Martin Luther’s ideas regarding the reformation extend past the church, and people such as John Calvin in Geneva advocate a total reformation of society in general, and this comes to define the margins and values of society. Although the reformation has a decisive impact on religion, it also proves to have universal consequences on early modern ideologies, politics, and economics. As protestantism became a threat to catholicism, governments and monarchs sought to regulate society by imposing uniformity regarding religion, and this parallels notions concerning the reorganization of the household. The church, the state, and the household became a coordinated community, all in attempt to eradicate sinfulness and unlawfulness, and those who are unable or unwilling to adopt these beliefs find themselves on the margins of society. The cooperation between these three pillars of society led to a moral policing of the masses. The poor were no longer pitied, and powerful magistrates began to draw lines connecting crime to poverty. This proves to have an impact on how crime and deviancy from social norms were perceived and how they were punished, as the state began to assume control of criminals and how they are punished.

“American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us,” by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, and “America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity,” by Robert Wuthnow, give different thoughts to religion and politics in the United States. Putnam and Campbell utilize the concepts of shocks and aftershocks to highlight religious changes in the United States. On the other hand, Wuthnow uses observations to focus on the encounters of religious diversity in the United States. Wuthnow compares American Christianity with other popular religions in America and how Christianity has affected the perception of religion. Putnam and Campbell’s “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” is a more persuasive assessment of American religion and politics.