Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
History and Religion
Born in Space: Empire and the Creation of American Religion

Born in Space: Empire and the Creation of American Religion

Last updated on: August 29, 2024 at 9:48 am by Philip Jenkins

0 Comments

Born in Space: Empire and the Creation of American Religion 2024-08-29T09:48:50-04:00 Philip Jenkins

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In recent years, American historians have reached a fair consensus that their nation’s history must be considered in terms of its being an empire, and from its earliest era. As such, we should apply to that history the insights of the modern study of empires, which is a very lively field of study. In this series of posts, I have been considering the implications for the specific theme of religion. Today I will be describing several critical aspects of that story, including such foundational matters as American attitudes to religious freedom, and the structure of its greatest churches and denominations.

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

In my recent book Kingdoms Of This World, I listed multiple factors common to empires in any time or place, which together constituted what I termed their “empire-ness.” These included, for instance, their construction of lengthy lines of communication, of new trade routes, of imperial cities, and the dispersal or migration of large populations. Empires mix population groups from previously unconnected parts of the world, and crucially, they spread common languages. All of these factors contributed to the spread of religions, which might or might not represent the approved creeds of the empire in question.

But empires vary enormously in how directly they seek to impose their rule, and to reproduce the conditions prevailing in their home society. As I discussed in my last post, some empires are happy to exploit conquered territories without settling large numbers of their own people. Others pursue a policy of settler colonialism, in which they largely or thoroughly replace older populations. That, of course, is what happened in the US context, and the religious consequences were sweeping.

The comparisons might seem obvious, but they are illuminating. In much of the Americas, empires ruled over very large Native populations who retained much of their language and tradition, and European settlement was sporadic and gradual. In Mexico or Peru, religious life meant imposing new Christian forms in ways that accommodated and absorbed Native traditions – even on occasion to the point of facing charges of syncretism. In contrast, the settler colonial model meant thoroughly displacing Native traditions, and imposing thoroughly European concepts of Christianity. In practice, there was little need to accommodate to Native spiritual ways. As I noted last time, by 1930, the reported Native population of the US and Alaska was just 360,000, out of an overall national population of 123 million. If that was not Native extinction, it was close.

One of the great consequences of settler colonialism was not what happened, but what did not happen. In the British-derived world at least, American Christianity never had to consider issues of syncretism, or even religious accommodation.

Many imperial regimes used religion to justify their enterprises, and those ideologies strongly influenced the religious character of emerging societies. But in the case of the United States, with its settler-colonial patterns, religious ideas justified ideas of empire that were not just diverse, but were irreconcilable. In theory, Native evangelism and White settlement should have gone hand in hand, but in practice, this was close to impossible.

From earliest colonial times, British governments favored imperial colonies that, at least in theory, were obliged to spread the Christian faith among the Native peoples. Some colonists followed these directions faithfully, notably John Eliot in Massachusetts, whose settlements of “praying Indians” closely followed Spanish practice in their dominions. But most settlers also followed a deeply rooted Biblical tradition growing out of ancient Hebrew wars with Canaanites and other indigenous people, and according to this model, God’s Elect had an absolute duty to expel and eliminate the pagan inhabitants of the land. One variant of this story, targeted at the Amalekite people, seemed to demand not just the conquest of those rivals, but outright extirpation – that is, genocide.

The “Canaanite” or Amalekite model gained ever greater prominence during the quite frequent outbreaks of warfare between expanding settlers and older indigenous communities. That ideology provided the foundation for later theories of limitless imperial expansion, and Manifest Destiny. American churches thoroughly imbibed those ideas, and became some of their most enthusiastic advocates.

John Gast, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Religious policy provided a firm foundation for settler ambitions. In some empires, such as Russia, governments strongly directed settlement by Slavic and Christian groups. Settlement in the American colonies, and the United States after them, was highly voluntary for White residents (not, of course, for enslaved Africans), and governments had to tempt and encourage them. British North America incorporated multiple very diverse societies, each with its own distinctive religious order, in large part to encourage settlers from different British and European lands. From an early point, it became apparent that policies of broad religious toleration proved highly attractive in encouraging immigration and settlement, notably in Pennsylvania and, on a different scale, in Rhode Island. However sincere the intentions of the founders, such colonies knew that toleration was an excellent way to build wholly new European societies in the New World. Traditions of toleration and diversity continued to attract settlers and colonists through the nineteenth century, and each new group broadened the religious spectrum with its own imported forms. Religious freedom was an excellent foundation for imperial expansion.

American imperial expansion, in its settler-colonial mode, not only spread new European-derived populations and cultures, but more precisely defined the religious structures they followed. As I have remarked, one critical aspect of “empire-ness” was the greatly expanded space on which institutions had to operate, far larger than anything contemplated in older European societies. Thinking as we often do that the growing US was in a sense just growing into its natural and predestined natural boundaries, we easily forget just how inconceivably vast was the territory it was acquiring during the nineteenth century. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 swelled the new country by over 800,000 square miles, an area ten times larger than the whole of Great Britain. In the 1840s, the US grew by an additional million square miles.

Dubourg, M., engraverMilbert, Jacques Gérard, 1766-1840 , artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Such inconceivable growth had huge religious consequences, and especially for the older and more staid churches. In colonial New England, the most significant denominations tried to reproduce European conditions, with well-educated clergy assigned to particular areas. Among the largest was the Anglican/Episcopal church, which all but collapsed with the withdrawal of its (British) imperial sponsorship during the Revolution. Although the Congregationalists suffered no such political disaster, they could not hope to cope with the demand for new ministers as populations spread to the vast western lands.

Between 1790 and 1860, the great story in US religion was the tremendous upsurge of the Baptists and Methodists, both of which were ideally suited to rapidly expanding settlement, with their decentralized and autonomous structures, and their lack of need for formally trained clergy. Highly mobile and flexible, these frontier faiths fitted perfectly in the expanding settlements. They also gained new vigor from the regular revivals along the advancing frontier of imperial settlement: the outburst in Kentucky in 1798 was one of the best known. Those movements in turn spawned new denominations, such as the Disciples of Christ.

American religion as we know it was born in space, and specifically the limitless spaces of the imperial frontier.

Alfred Jacob Miller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Baptist and Methodist explosion had an enormous impact on Black American cultures. These churches were the first American denominations to permit Black congregations, with profound consequences for the long-term development of Black religious life, and for culture more broadly defined. Black churches, such as the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) showed early enthusiasm for the missionary ventures that were such a hallmark of imperial ideology, and had a special commitment to the American semi-colony of Liberia. Black churches sought to show their worthiness to participate in the imperial project. These stories too were part of the larger success of those churches, which were so well fitted for the new imperial worlds.

This is still very much a work in progress. I have a great deal more to say on these themes, especially the Catholic dimension, and oh my, those Mormons – the definitive religion of America’s advancing imperial frontier.

Image courtesy of author.

General Christian

History and Religion

Previous Post

August 28, 2024

Recent Books: Women, Gender, and Sex in US Religious History

Next Post

August 30, 2024 Seeing the Second Great Awakening on Every Electoral Map

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Very good point about MacDonald.I am certainly a Machen fan!"

philipjenkins

Fairies, Witches, Folk Horror, and the ..."

"The Scottish author George MacDonald integrated fairy world into his fiction in a way that ..."

Terry

Fairies, Witches, Folk Horror, and the ..."

"I like the idea that we can have different streams. The coffee analogy is genius."

Lisa Clark Diller

How Do You Take Your Evangelicalism?

"Geography lesson: Southern California is actually in North Texas. I've lived her for 40 years, ..."

Terry

How Do You Take Your Evangelicalism?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abolitionism Abortion Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Kuyper Abraham Lincoln Academia Activism Adam Renberg Advent Adventist africa African American Religion Agnes Howard Albert Camus American History American Religious History American Revolution American West Anabaptists Ancient History Andrea Turpin Andrei Tarkovsky Anglicanism Annales Ansley Lillian Quiros anti-Catholicism Antisemitism Anxious Bench apologetics Apparitions Arash Azizi Archaeology archives art Artificial Intelligence Asia Asian Americans Augustine Authors Bad Bunny Baptism Baptists Barack Obama Battle of Hastings Benjamin Franklin Bernard-Henri Levy Beth Allison Barr Beth Moore Bethany Mannon Bible Bill Cunningham Billy Graham Black Music Bob Dylan Body Boenhoffer Books Breastfeeding Bruce Springsteen C.S. Lewis Calvinism Cancel Culture Capitalism Carmelites Catholicism Cedric Robinson Cesar Chavez Charismaticism charity Charles Dickens Charles Lindbergh Che Guevara Chicago Children Chinese Christianity Chris Gehrz Christ Christian death Christian Higher Education Christian life Christian Nation Christian Nationalism Christianity Today Christmas Church life Church Practice cinema Civil Religion Civil Rights Movement Civil War civility Classics Climate Change Cold War Colonial Mexico colonialism Comer Communism community complementarianism Conference on Faith and History Congregationalism Conspiracies Conspiracy Conversion Narratives Coronavirus Costa Rica Council of Nicaea Covid-19 Creation Critical Race Theory Crusades Culture culture wars Daniel K. Williams David Barton David Swartz Death Ways death with dignity DEI democracy Democratic Party Devotion Digital Age Diplomacy discipleship diversity Donald Trump Drama Dua Lipa Early Church early modern Early modern Catholicism Easter Eastern Christianity economic exploitation Education elections Elie Wiesel Elizabeth II Elizabeth Taylor emotions Empire Engineering England enslavement Entertainment Episcopal Church Erica Ramirez eschatology Eurocentrism Evangelicalism Evangelicals Exegesis Family Feminism Film Flannery O'Connor folk music Food Foreign Policy founding fathers Franciscans Franciscus Junius fundamentalism Funerals G.K. Chesterton Gender Genocide genre geography George W. Bush George Washington George Whitefield Global Christianity Global church Grief Guadalupe guest post Guest Post gun control gun violence Gustavo Gutierrez Hamid Dabashi Harold John Ockenga Harvest Hate Hawaiian Christianity Healing health care Heather Cox Richardson Hell Heresy Hermeneutics Higher Education Hinduism Hippocratic oath Historical Fiction Historical Methodology Historical Profession Historical Profession Historical Theology Historical Thinking historiography Holidays Holocaust horror movies Human rights Humanitarian Work humanities Hummingbirds Hungary hymns Imago Dei Immigration Injustice Interviews Iran Islam Islamophobia Israel Ivan's Childhood Jacob Randolph James Bratt Janine Giordano Drake Japanese history Japanese Literature Jean Paul Sartre Jesse Miranda Jesus Jesus Christ Jimmy Carter Joan Baez Joan Didion Joanne Freeman João B. Chaves Joao Chaves Joey Cochran John Calvin John Fea John Tillotson John Turner Johnny Cash Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Tran Joseph Smith Josh Howerton Journalism Jr. Judaism Jürgen Moltmann Just War Justice Justin Brierley Karl Barth Katelyn Beaty koi ponds Kris Kristofferson Kristin Kobes Du Mez Latin American Religious History Latino Americans Lectio Divina Leisure Lent Leonard Cohen liberal arts liberalism Liberation Theology Linda Ronstadt Lisa Clark Diller Literature Lou Reed Lynchings Lynneth Miller Renberg Mainline Protestantism Malcolm Foley Marilyn Monroe Maritime history Mark Noll Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masih Alinejad mass shootings material culture medieval Christianity Medieval Ethiopia Melissa Borja memory Mennonites Mental Health Mental Illness Methodism Mexican Americans Mexicans Mike Madrid Miles Mullin Min Jin Lee Miscarriage Missionaries Mister Rogers Mitt Romney modernity Monasticism Mormonism Motherhood Mothers of the Church Moving Music Musicals Nadya Williams Nahua Christianity Native Americans Natsume Sōseki New Contributor New England New Year New York Nico Non-Violent Protest Orthodoxy pacifism Paleo Evangelicals Palestinians Parenting Patti Smith Paul Kingsnorth Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pentecostalism Philip Jenkins Phillis Wheatley physician-assisted suicide pilgrimage Pilgrims pluralism Plutocracy Poetry Politics Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV post-modernism prayer preaching Presbyterians prosperity gospel Protest Public history Publishing Puritans purity culture Quakers race Race Massacres Racial Capitalism racial reconciliation racialization Racism Raha Bahloulipour Re-Enchantment reading Reformation Refugees religion and the university religion and war Religious Freedom Religious Nones Religious Pluralism Religious Symbols religious violence Republican Party Revival Rita Coolidge Ritual Roger Williams Roman Catholic church Royalty Russell Moore same-sex marriage Sarah Irving-Stonebraker Scandinavia Science Science and Technology Scopes trial Scriptural Interpretation secularism Selena Quintanilla seminary Seventh-Day Adventists sexual morality Sexuality Sikhs Silence slaveholders theology Slavery Slavoj Zizek social justice Social Media Southern Baptist Convention Southern Religion Spain Spiritual Autobiography Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Discipline Sports Stanley Hauerwas Suffering Summer Camps Sunday Night Odds and Ends Supernatural Supreme Court Syriac Christianity Tal Howard Taylor Swift Teaching Technology Television Thanksgiving The Beatles The Mission theater TheoBros Theology Thomas Dixon Thomas Jefferson Thomas Kidd Thomas Merton Tim Gloege Tim Walz Tom Holland Tourism tradition Tragedy Translation Transnationalism Travel Trump Ukraine Uncategorized Unitarians United Methodist Church US History Vanessa Chan Velvet Underground Verónica A. Gutiérrez Veronica Gutierrez Vikings Violence Virgin Mary Virtue Virtue ethics Visions Voting War WCTU Wendell Berry Westminster Assembly White Evangelicalism Wildfires Winnie the Pooh Witches women Women in Ministry Women's and Gender Studies Work Worship writing Yasunari Kawabata Zena Hitz

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What root attitude does Paul say is the "root of all kinds of evil"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Love of animals Love of money Love of music Love of wisdom