Webography, Freeing Religion
English, African, and Native American religions converged in Virginia. The
Great Awakening and the Enlightenment contributed to a ferment of doctrine,
opinion, and practice that led to the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom in 1786. Following are links to bibliographic and textual resources
that relate to these societal changes in British America, especially Virginia.
Internet Resources from Colonial Williamsburg
Freeing
Religion
The “Freeing Religion” story line surveys religious life in colonial
Virginia and explains how Native American, African, and European religions in
the colony were shaped by the legally sanctioned Church of England, by the evangelical
movement that inspired many Virginians to abandon the established church for
dissenting sects, and by the philosophical, political, and social changes that
culminated in the passage of a law guaranteeing the free exercise of religion.
For further understanding, please read the key points for this story line.
Religion
in Early Virginia
Read about aspects of religious life in colonial and revolutionary Virginia.
Bruton
Parish Church: A History of Its Architectural Development in the Colonial Period,
by Carl Lounsbury
Throughout the colonial period Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg continued
to be enlarged, reworked, and rearranged.
Bruton
Parish Churchyard
Graves of note include those of Governor Edward Nott, first rector Rowland Jones,
the powerful Thomas Ludwell, merchant John Greenhow, and two infant children
of Martha Custis Washington by her first husband.
Podcasts Transcripts
Thomas
Jefferson on Religion (Bill Barker, July 17, 2006)
Patrick
Henry on Religion (Richard Schumann, July 10, 2006)
Thomas
Jefferson vs. Patrick Henry (Bill Barker and Richard Schumann continue their
debate on the role of religion in government, July 24, 2006)
Religion
in the Colonies (John Turner, April 17, 2006)
Williamsburg’s
Evangelical Preacher (Ron Carnegie interprets the charismatic colonial preacher
George Whitefield, April 10, 2006)
Transcriptions of “Colonial Williamsburg: Past & Present” podcasts,
with host Lloyd Dobyns.
Recommended Readings
The reading
list features classic histories and recent monographs selected by historians
in Colonial Williamsburg’s Department of Historical Research. The list is
recommended to interpreters, to teachers, and to general readers who want to learn
more about early America and colonial Virginia. Periodically the list is refreshed
with additions to an ever-growing literature.
Articles from Colonial Williamsburg: The Journal
“Alas,
Poor…Who? Or, Melancholy Moments in Colonial and Later Virginia”,
by Ivor Noël Hume, Spring 2005
As today, coffins came in grades and complexities reflecting real or supposed
wealth or social status. The poorest families rented the reusable parish coffin
and went to their Maker in no more than a winding sheet. The simplest wooden
coffins were of pine, often covered with fabric secured with black-painted brass
tacks. But if one were as cautious as John Custis, the inner coffin would be
of elm lined with fabric, this encased in lead of a thickness having a ratio
of five pounds per square foot.
“Richman,
Poorman, Beggarman, Thief: Down but Not Out in Colonial Virginia”,
by Martha W. McCartney, Autumn 2000
In May 1755 the churchwardens of Bruton Parish sought the Burgesses' permission
to convert a dwelling near Capitol Landing into “a Workhouse, where the
Poor might be more cheaply maintained and usefully employed.” Providing
for the poor of the Parish had always been a burden, and that recently had greatly
increased. Bruton's vestry also asked for the right “to compel the Poor
of their Parish to dwell and work in the said House” under whatever restrictions
the House might impose.
Subjects:
Baptists Virginia
Church and state
Church of England Virginia
Dissenters religious
Freedom of religion
Methodist Church Virginia
Presbyterian Church Virginia
Religion and politics
Sermons American
Virginia church history
Virginia religion
Other Internet Resources
The
Hall of Church History: Theology from a Bunch of Dead Guys
Chronologies, histories, and biographies and writings of church fathers through
the centuries of the Christian tradition.
The Jonathan Edwards Center
at Yale University
Edwards (1703-1758), a Massachusetts clergyman, and prominent in the Great Awakening.
subscribed to an experiential interpretation of Reformed theology that emphasized
the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind, the reality of hell, and
the necessity of a “New Birth” conversion. Includes “The Works
of Jonathan Edwards Online”.
The
Sermons of George Whitefield
Whitefield (1714-1770) made seven visits to America from his home in England.
A proponent of the Great Awakening, he was the best known preacher in the American
colonies, and he visited Williamsburg in December 1739 and preached at Bruton
Parish Church. His activities were closely monitored in the Virginia Gazette
and his books were sold locally. Searchable transcriptions of the full texts.
Center
for Reformed Theology and Apologetics: Historic Church Documents
Creeds, confessions, catechisms, and sermons.
Early
Virginia Religious Petitions
A collaborative project between the Library of Congress and the Library of Virginia,
this site provides images of 423 petitions submitted to the Virginia legislature
between 1774 and 1802. The petitions concern such issues as the historic debate
over the separation of church and state, the rights of dissenters, the sale
and division of property in the established church, and the dissolution of unpopular
vestries.
Subscription Resources
Available only on computers on the CWF network; contact Reference Desk,
757-565-8510, for assistance.
America:
History and Life
Indexes over 2,000 history periodicals and includes citations of book reviews
and doctoral dissertations. Try this “Advanced” search: Put “virginia”
in the Keywords box, “church or religion” in the Subject Terms box,
and 1700 to 1800 in the Time Periods boxes.
Early
American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Full-text books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the bibliography
by Charles Evans. If you Browse by Genres, you’ll find such categories
as Catechisms, Devotional literature, Hymnals, Liturgical books, Prayer books,
Psalters, and Sermons. Browsing by Subject, you’ll see a Religion link
with subjects including Church and state, Church history, Deism, Dissenters,
Freedom of religion, Huguenots, Religious tolerance, and Slavery and the church.
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