“The study of religion is unquestionably exciting.”
That’s a quote from the book, Religion in America, edited by Harold Rabinowitz and Greg Tobin. To prove their point, consider the religious events in America’s past that appear below.
This is NOT a list for memorization. The dates are included for context. The events themselves are the real focus. Find something on this list that is of interest to YOU.
Religion in Early America, 1619 to 1896
1619
Slaves are first brought to Virginia; some are instructed in Christianity.
1620
Pilgrims arrive in America aboard the Mayflower.
1630
English Puritans sail for Massachusetts Bay, led by John Winthrop. They found Plymouth Colony.
1634
The first Roman Catholics land in America, aboard the Ark and the Dove.
1654
The beginning of American Jewish history: Twenty-three Jews disembark in New Amsterdam Harbor. (The American Council for Judaism notes that Jews traveled with Columbus in 1492.)
1683
William Penn founds Pennsylvania Colony for Quakers — and other Protestants.
1688
Pennsylvania Quakers make the first formal protest against slavery.
1692
Salem, Massachusetts, witchcraft trials and executions.
1730
New York Jews build first New York synagogue, Shearith Israel.
1730 to 1745
The Great Awakening. George Whitefield tours New England preaching to huge crowds in the Fall of 1740.
1733
Savannah establishes a Jewish community; will become permanent in 1790s.
1753
Jonathan Edwards of Massachusetts (“Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God”) publishes The Freedom of the Will in defense of Calvinism.
1770s
First African-American churches founded in South Carolina.
1787
The Northwest Territory Act grants Jews equality in all future territories and states.
1788
The United States Constitution ratified; Jews given full rights under federal (but not state) laws.
1789
Pope Pius VI (1775-1799) ratifies changes in Ex hac Apostolicae that make the Catholic church in America a formal ecclesiastical entity. Baltimore becomes the first diocese, and John Carroll is appointed the bishop in one year later. Also in this year Georgetown is founded as America’s first Catholic university.
1791
U.S. Constitution ratified; includes First Amendment prohibiting the establishment of a national religion or government interference in religious practice.
1795 – 1835
Second Great Awakening.
1807
Omar ibn Said (1773-1864), a West African scholar, is captured and enslaved, brought to North Carolina and remains enslaved until his death. His autobiography, Life of Omar ibn Said, is earliest literary work by American muslim.
1852
Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Sowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin published. The highly-popular literature makes a religious case for social change, providing a moral defense for the anti-slavery movement.
1860
Morris Raphall first rabbi to open a session of the U.S. Congress with prayer.
1862
The United States government appoints army chaplain to serve Jews, General Grant expels Jews from Tennessee, charging collusion with the South; decree quickly revoked y President Lincoln.
1875
First wave of Muslim immigration to the U.S. from Syrai.
1882
Father Michael McGivney founds the Knights of Columbus in fulfillment of desire of Catholic men to have their own lodge.
Oct. 22, 1884
The date chosen by William Miller (pre-Seventh Day Adventist history) for the Second Coming of Christ, which did not occur. The date is known as “The Great Disappointment.”
1888
Journalist diplomat Alexander Russell Webb (1846-1916) converts to Islam. He becomes speaker, advocate of Islam; represents Islam at World Parliament of Religion in Chicago in 1893.
1889
Scholar and activist Edward W. Blyden tours eastern and southern U.S. promoting Islam for blacks.
1895
Muslims from India settle in the western U.S.
1896
Henry McNeal Turner, minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, asserts in article that “God is a Negro.”
The purpose of this timeline is to provide a good overview of the initial and growing presence of Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews and Muslims in early America. This list can be used as a resource to go deeper into the specific historical events that are mentioned. Alternative topics for further study include:
- How does the American religious landscape of today differ from religious life before 1900?
- What can you say about Native American religious practices?
- What about Texas? What significant religious milestones can you identify during the early American period?
Timeline Source: Harold Rabinowitz and Greg Tobin, Religion in America: A Comprehensive Guide to Faith, History and Tradition. New York: Sterling, 2011.
Adolfo Mendez 