Religion And Religion: The Cause Of The American Revolution

The American Revolution lasted from 1775 to 1783 in the colonies and religion played a large part in encouraging the revolution, by offering a moral sanction for opposition to the British. Religions that supported the revolution include the Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Baptists, while the religion that opposed the revolution was Anglican. Before the revolution, there was a fear of Anglican ecclesiasticism by Evangelicals, as in order to administer confirmation and ordination of ministers in the colonies a Bishop from the Church of England would have to come and perform these duties, agitating other religious leaders and possibly causing the creation of an Episcopate. Throughout 1766 and 1775 the Congregationalist church and the Prysbetarians church held conferences to combat the ecclesiasticism and encourage intercolonial cooperation, as these churches believed that a Church of England bishop would threaten their religious liberty. This caused discontent with the
Many clergymen argued that the revolution was approved by God, a minister Abraham Keteltas claimed: "the cause of truth, against error and falsehood . . . the cause of pure and undefiled religion, against bigotry, superstition, and human invention . . . in short, it is the cause of heaven against hell--of the kind Parent of the Universe against the prince of darkness, and the destroyer of the human race.” (LOC GOV) Many of the flags that were carried into battle contained religious sayings and symbols. The Revolution caused some denominations to split, specifically the Church of England and the Quakers. The Anglican Church was viewed as committing treason as they had sworn allegiance to the King, the church members were known as Loyalists in the colonies. Many Anglican ministers left the colonies and multiple congregations were