Religion as a Precipitating Cause of the American Revolution, Part II

John Baiamonte, Ph.D.

Grace Memorial Parishioner, Vestry Member, and Christian Education Leader

Churches generally have a political theology regarding what the responsibilities are of man and the proper organization of society.  However, the Church of England had at the time of the American Revolution, and still has, a specific article of faith that affirms the authority of the British monarch over both the church and state.

Article 37 of the Thirty-Nine Article of Religion of the Church of England stated in 1571 the king or queen has “the chief power in this Realm of England, and other his Dominions.”  The Article further stated that the monarchs have the “prerogative . . .  that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be Ecclesiastical of Temporal.”  The article of faith made the British monarchy not just a preferred form of government but one that was divinely ordained.  

Canons of the Church of England were carried over into the Anglican colonies and required ministers to at least four times a year to deliver sermons preaching that the king was the highest power under God.  An American minister who supported the Patriot cause would thereby be in violation of his sacred oath.  Consequently, during the Revolution, half of the Anglican ministers resigned their pulpits either out of conviction and support of the Revolution or fear of Patriot parishioners.  Support of the Crown was strongest in places like New York where ministers could be protected by British troops.

The Book of Common Prayer became an issue because prescribed prayers asked God to defend the king and give him victory over all his enemies.  After the Declaration of Independence some Anglican Churches modified their prayer books with more patriotic words.

John Calvin, prior to the coming of the American Revolution, preached that individuals had a religious duty to obey their rulers up to the limits of their Christian conscience but not further.  He further wrote that Christians must voluntarily obey the will of God.  Followers of Calvin believed that resistance to arbitrary government was the religious duty of a Christian.  Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin emblazoned this Calvinistic belief in the first seal of the United States which proclaimed, “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.”

John Calvin (1509-1564) Image courtesy of Calvin University https://calvin.edu/about/history/john-calvin.html

This Calvinistic principle found itself repeated in sermons using the Book of Galatians which called for the colonists to break free from the yoke of bondage.  Patriotic ministers drove home this Calvinistic message with their interpretation of Romans 13 and making it a patriotic cry.  Revolutionaries continued to call on the writings of Calvin by arguing that lesser magistrates (counsellors, legislators, judges and the nobility) had the duty to protect the people when higher magistrates, including the king, became abusive and tyrannical.  The lesser magistrates had the obligation to organize and lead the resistance.

The First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s) drove Americans toward resisting authority.  One of the principal themes of the Great Awakening was that revivalist preachers undermined the authority of the educated clergy and to authorities in general.  Since Anglican preachers were highly educated, the First Great Awakening weakened their influence and thus built hostility to the British authority in the colonies. 
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There were denominational differences in clerical support toward the American Revolution.  An exhaustive study of the views of every Anglican minister in the colonies found that only 27 percent supported the Revolution, and most of the supporters were in Virginia.  Of the 55 Anglican clergy north of Pennsylvania, only three supported the Revolution.  Nearly all important pamphlets published in support of the Loyalist position came from the authorship of an Anglican priest.  

On the other hand, the Reformed Protestant clergy supported the Revolution almost unanimously.  As a result, the Reformed Protestant ministers were credited or blamed for the Revolution.   Presbyterian and Congregationalists ministers were being blamed for the Revolution.  Calvinist ministers, often referred to as “the Black Regiment” because of the austere black robes they wore, were also blamed for the Revolution.  Even the British monarchy blamed the Protestants for the Revolution.  King George supposedly referred to the Revolution as a “Presbyterian Revolution”. 

Allegiance to the Revolution was harder to assess in the pews.  Anglicans were loyalists except in Virginia and New York.  Probably most Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Baptists followed their clergy in supporting the Revolution.  Though small in numbers, Catholics and Jews supported the Revolution overwhelmingly.  So did the Quakers and Methodists but not as vigorously.  The Dutch, German Lutherans, and Reformed were divided.  

By not supporting the Revolution, the status of churches was affected. The Church of England (Anglican) held the status of an established church throughout the South and in parts of New York, but support of the monarchy caused their established status to be stripped. Establishment never returned to those colonies. However, the Congregational Church gained prestige because of supporting the Revolution.  

Being Anglican did not harm the reputation of colonists.  For example, George Washington, our first American President, was a devoted member of the Church of England and later an Episcopalian. He was a member of the vestry at Truro Parish and senior warden. Being Anglican after the American Revolution did not hurt the political aspirations of Americans because three of the first five American Presidents were Anglicans.

NOTE:  This blog, like all others, is the result of AI research and my personal library, in addition to my ancient graduate school notes on my courses on American colonial history.