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Introduction
This paper is devoted to studying the influence of religion on the course of the Revolutionary War. The study examined various aspects of the relationship between religion, politics, and society. According to the information from various literary sources, religion played a significant role in the process of the Revolutionary War. In those days, as well as at the present moment, it was important for people to defend their worldview.
They wanted to prove that their diversity plays an essential role in the functioning of the whole state. This war, in turn, also caused changes in the religious structure of the United States. Having united against a common enemy, citizens of the USA became closer, learned to understand each other better, and even adopted something from each others religious confessions. Thus, the course of the Revolutionary War confirms the connection between religion and politics, which remains visible to this day.
The history of any society is undeniably related to religion. This is predetermined by the fact that all areas of activity (culture, politics, family) are formed on the basis of human behavior. It is based on three principles: abilities, skills, and worldview. They reflect human needs: personal interests, social interests, and will for transformation. The combination of these three elements produces those social foundations within which a society evolves.
Since the transforming principle is most clearly realized in religion, the worldview of most communities is partly based on creeds. Weiner (2019) argues that religion is frequently credited as being a shaping force in the world (p. 4). The process of interaction of religion and politics takes place in every society. However, it differs in the degree of influence of these phenomena on each other. In this context of the interaction of religion and politics, the United States of America is a unique country.
The American state itself arose partially for religious reasons, and religious movements of nearly four centuries determined the countrys development paths. This means that the religion of the United States of America has always been closely associated with politics. This situation was predetermined during the period of the emergence of the US political system and continued to be formed throughout the history of this country. Nevertheless, researchers and Americans themselves acknowledge that religion for most of Americas population has become only an external attribute. Behind it are completely secular ideas about morality and virtue. Thus, religion had a significant impact on the revolution of the 18th century. The purpose of this paper is to study and describe this effect.
Literature review
First of all, it is worth noting that religion plays a significant role in the life of humankind. According to Wald and Calhoun-Brown (2018), some students of religion believe it meets a basic human need, much like food and shelter (p. 15). Thanks to religion, many people can better understand themselves, other people, and the world around them. For them, this is an essential aspect of life, so they are ready to fight for their rights and opportunities associated with religion.
Researchers argue that the religious views of immigrants are significantly different from those of Native Americans. In addition, the number of religious denominations and worldviews among them varies considerably. For example, 65% of Latin American immigrants are Catholics, 17% are Protestants, and only 4% are Orthodox (Massey & Higgins, 2011, p. 1375). At the same time, most of the inhabitants of America at that time were Protestants. However, it was possible to find among immigrants, for example, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus.
Researchers claim that even the formation of the United States was the result of a religious conflict. According to Wong (2002), the colonies were settled by those escaping religious persecution in Europe (p. 1). On the one hand, this diversity sometimes led to internal conflicts, since people could not agree on such an important issue. On the other hand, it has been and remains one of the fundamental principles of the state.
Conflicts that arise between representatives of different religious faiths were not always severe and destructive. Hall (2003) notes that much competition between religious groups is peaceful, and it unfolds within a larger frame of mutual respect and sometimes cooperation (p. 15). This suggests that despite the disagreement of views, people understand and respect each others positions. However, during the Revolutionary War, the religious beliefs of the British Church were imposed on them too strictly. In this situation, they could not remain peaceful and diplomatic. During the Revolutionary War, Americans invented new ways to fight the enemy and seemed to be too cruel sometimes (Sebree, 2019). They needed to defend their views on life and achieve independence, including in the field of religion.
The interaction of religion and politics in the USA
The entire political history of the United States is permeated with a religious spirit. The settlement of the North American colonies began during the era of mass religious changes in Europe, and the so-called Pilgrim Fathers, strict Presbyterians, were among the first settlers. They established theocratic despotism in Massachusetts, which severely punished people for apostasy from doctrine. Other colonies, such as Pennsylvania and, in particular, Rhode Island, on the contrary, have established unprecedented freedom of religion. But this experience did not last long, and until the adoption of the Constitution, many colonies established a very strict religious dictatorship.
However, an acute labor shortage in a rapidly developing state required a massive influx of emigrants, whose religious beliefs were different. Heads of cities were forced to promise them freedom of religion. The founders of the state took this experience into account, and the Constitution they compiled is entirely secular. Religion is mentioned there only to indicate its separation from the state firmly. Taafe (2019) notes that the United States during the Revolutionary War was more a confederation than a truly unified nation (p. 12). For comparison, almost all European states at that time had an official religion, supported by the authority of the government and the monarch.
This state neutrality concerning religion contributed to the flourishing and religious creativity of the masses. A powerful religious upsurge came in the colonial period. In the first half of the 18th century, the great American theologian Jonathan Edward gave impetus to the so-called Great Awakening. Edward was more likely an intellectual, but his initiative was taken by the preacher George Whitefield. Having received widespread popular support, religious freedom did not affect the political elite. The clear connection of Catholics and Protestants with the respective parties led to a strict formula: there are more Protestants among professional politicians.
The central aspect of the influence of religion on politics is the influence on the consciousness of people. At the level of consciousness, public morality and, accordingly, the law, are formed. It is crucial to take into account the participation of religious structures and political parties with religious orientation in political activities, including in international political events. This causes a change in the social system and the general condition of the countrys population. Moreover, specific differences in the religious area can cause conflicts and wars both within the country and between different states. In the United States, there were both types of conflict. Before relations between the state and the church were not fully established and understood, moreover, the religious impact of Great Britain was considered harmful.
The propaganda of religion, with its system of values and ideas, can both positively and negatively affect the authority of the government or any political subject. The spread of religious beliefs can constitute a conjuncture for the spread of any ideology, and in a certain way, determine or contribute to the development of social consciousness. The presence of this direction of influence obliges the authorities to take into account the religious factor in the domestic policy of the state.
Since religious aspects largely determine the preferences of the electorate, professional politicians must take this factor into account in their activities. Moreover, to become a significant politician, people must openly declare their faith. Regarding the Revolutionary War, it is difficult to say that the religious preferences of politicians influenced the process. There were many social and political reasons for the war, and religious differences were only a reinforcing factor. As mentioned earlier, before the war, the American people did not have sufficient unity, including with regard to religion.
Thus, the absence of major religious conflicts in the United States is explained by several features of American society. First, it was originally multinational and multiconfessional. It was forced to adopt a sufficiently strong pluralism of opinions on a wide range of issues, including religious ones. Secondly, due to changes in lifestyle, numerous immigrants made some changes in the processes of worship, and even in dogma. This led to a low level of dogmatism of the Americans and an almost complete absence of religious fanaticism. Finally, the close interaction of many faiths could not but lead to interpenetration and some religious syncretism.
Relation of religion and politics during the Revolutionary War
For the first time in history, the American Revolution separated the church from the state. In the United States, this was not a consequence of the anti-clerical nature of the revolution, but only a consequence of the weakening of religious differences and religious pluralism.
They did not have a dominant church that could become a state church. Separating the church from the state, the revolutionaries in every possible way emphasized their religiosity, always resorting to Christian symbolism. For example, Congress has its chaplains regularly preaching to him, announcing days of public fasting and thanksgiving. In the Washington army, blasphemers (the concept of blasphemy was interpreted extremely widely) were put on wooden collars around their necks.
The combination of the ideology of revolution and national identity is as peculiar as the combination of political and religious elements in the ideology of the revolution. The American revolution includes both the political revolution and the war of independence. The War of Independence is similar to a civil war, such as the 17th-century English war, and a national liberation movement such as the Algerian war against the French.
But nationalism did not become the ideology of the revolution because the Americans were not yet a single nation. They did not have an established national identity at that moment. They did not feel like a separate community, but like British, Swedes, Germans, and Irish living in different parts of the country. Therefore, the proclamation of US independence led to the formation of national identity, feeling of we are Americans, already in an independent state.
The revolution accelerated the break with the Church of England, caused the growth of dissident churches. The movement for separating the church from the state and religious freedom intensified. The most advanced legislative act in this area was the Statute of Religious Freedom, introduced by Thomas Jefferson in the Virginia Legislature in 1779. It represented the limit of the achievements of the revolutionary era in the field of relations between the church and the state, finally affirming the principle of religious freedom.
Conclusion
The connection of religion with the social and political life of the United States is undeniable. However, it is necessary to understand the peculiar state of religious denominations in the country before the Revolutionary War. First of all, there was no unity of faiths in the USA, and therefore people did not have a commonality in this matter. Moreover, the constant influx of immigrants added some diversity, making the country even less united. However, because of their views, the people of America resisted the influence of the British Church even more. They were not happy with the fact that they had to take someone elses position on such an important issue. They were ready to unite against a common enemy because they were not ready to accept his point of view.
It is worth mentioning the other side of the interaction: the impact of the war on the functioning of religions in the United States. During the war, people needed to unite against a common enemy. This affected their relations within the state: they became closer and learned to understand each other better.
Thanks to this, the cultural self-identification of people was more clearly established. In part, this entailed the restructuring of the religious system: people became interested in other faiths and started learning from each other. Thus, the interconnection between religion and the Revolutionary War is undeniable since all spheres of societys life are interconnected: social, political, and spiritual.
References
Hall, J. R. (2003). Handbook for the sociology of religion. Cambridge University Press.
Massey, D. S., & Higgins, M. E. (2011). The effect of immigration on religious belief and practice: A theologizing or alienating experience? Social Science Research, 40(5), 1371-1389.
Sebree, C. (2019). Historical sources on the Revolutionary War. Cavendish Square Publishing.
Taafe, S. R. (2019). Washingtons revolutionary war generals. University of Oklahoma Press.
Wald, K. D., & Calhoun-Brown, A. (2018). Religion and Politics in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield.
Weiner, I. (2019). Religion, Law, USA. NYU Press.
Wong, E. (2002). The history of religious conflict in the United States: Revolution to September 11th. Web.
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