The American Right to Revolt Against Tyranny: Part B—Colonial Pulpits

The Limits of Tyranny are Measured by the Endurance of the Oppressed

Frederick Douglass

By Kelly OConnell

Does it seem plausible that the true spark of the American Revolution was the religion of peace—Christianity? In fact, how could it be any other way in a country expressly founded to establish Christian religious liberty?

Colonial America was one of the most intensely evangelized and churched societies in history. For example, according to Harry Stout in The New England Soul: Preaching and Religious Culture in Colonial New England, the typical colonists probably listened to 7,000 hours of sermons in their lifetime. For many colonists, their instruction in religion, science, history, politics and most other subjects were delivered only by the pulpit. And the first wave of American ministers were Harvard trained.

Early American society was so influenced by the Bible, church, and preaching that it took on many of these traits by exposure and lack of other influences. Many colonists lived isolated existences, and counted only a few books, the Bible being chief in most homes. And weekly church meetings would have filled the role of religious instruction, social gathering and information exchange with neighbors. As the States grew and began to struggle for an independent voice from mother England, especially after mad King George pressed America for increasing funds, pulpits began to ring with protests, as detailed in James P. Byrd’s Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution. Historian Gordon S. Wood wrote:

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