Christianity and the Constitution

  The development of Christianity in the United States is an interesting journey for historians to explore.  One game changer for Christianity which allowed it to flourish to an extent that had not been seen in the United States was the completion of the United States Constitution in 1789.  This blog will seek to explore that by brief examinations of Christianity prior to the passage of the Constitution and after it.

During the colonial are, one could make the argument that many cities, towns, and even colonies were ruled as theocracies, or governments via church.  In my view, this is best exemplified by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  This era also saw the witch hysteria, and the events in Salem, MA during the summer and fall of 1692 are the most well known example of this.  Men and women lost their lives because they questioned the events going on around them, failed to attend Sunday services, or other reasons.  One of the best examples involves a man named John Proctor.  Proctor was a citizen of Salem who saw his wife get accused of witchcraft.  When he began criticizing the process, he got accused, and he would be convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death.

     Following the completion of the US Constitution, Christians in the United States began to come around to the necessity of putting at least a little separation between church and state.  In my view, groups such as the American Unitarian Society called for distance from what their predecessors in New England did.  In my view, this shows one thing.

Christians in America realized the issue that they had created for the development of the faith in the United States.  Colonies and settlements in New England had become theocracies, with unnecessary loss of life being a consequence.  This would lead to two ideas that are key to American democracy: Freedom of Religion and separation of church and state.  


References:

  1. web.archive.org. “John Proctor,” February 18, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100218041339/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BPRO.HTM.

  2. American Unitarian Association. Causes of the Progress of Liberal Christianity in New England. 2nd ed. Boston: Bowles and Dearborn, 1827.

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