America's True History of Religious Tolerance
The idea that the United States has always been a bastion of religious freedom is reassuring—and utterly at odds with the historical record
- By Kenneth C. Davis
- Smithsonian magazine, October 2010, Subscribe
Philadelphia's Bible Riots of 1844 reflected a strain of anti-Catholic bias and hostility that coursed through 19th-century America. Granger Collection, New York
Wading into the controversy surrounding an Islamic center planned for a site near New York City’s Ground Zero memorial this past August, President Obama declared: “This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are.” In doing so, he paid homage to a vision that politicians and preachers have extolled for more than two centuries—that America historically has been a place of religious tolerance. It was a sentiment George Washington voiced shortly after taking the oath of office just a few blocks from Ground Zero.
But is it so?
In the storybook version most of us learned in school, the Pilgrims came to America aboard the Mayflower in search of religious freedom in 1620. The Puritans soon followed, for the same reason. Ever since these religious dissidents arrived at their shining “city upon a hill,” as their governor John Winthrop called it, millions from around the world have done the same, coming to an America where they found a welcome melting pot in which everyone was free to practice his or her own faith.
The problem is that this tidy narrative is an American myth. The real story of religion in America’s past is an often awkward, frequently embarrassing and occasionally bloody tale that most civics books and high-school texts either paper over or shunt to the side. And much of the recent conversation about America’s ideal of religious freedom has paid lip service to this comforting tableau.
From the earliest arrival of Europeans on America’s shores, religion has often been a cudgel, used to discriminate, suppress and even kill the foreign, the “heretic” and the “unbeliever”—including the “heathen” natives already here. Moreover, while it is true that the vast majority of early-generation Americans were Christian, the pitched battles between various Protestant sects and, more explosively, between Protestants and Catholics, present an unavoidable contradiction to the widely held notion that America is a “Christian nation.”
First, a little overlooked history: the initial encounter between Europeans in the future United States came with the establishment of a Huguenot (French Protestant) colony in 1564 at Fort Caroline (near modern Jacksonville, Florida). More than half a century before the Mayflower set sail, French pilgrims had come to America in search of religious freedom.
The Spanish had other ideas. In 1565, they established a forward operating base at St. Augustine and proceeded to wipe out the Fort Caroline colony. The Spanish commander, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, wrote to the Spanish King Philip II that he had “hanged all those we had found in [Fort Caroline] because...they were scattering the odious Lutheran doctrine in these Provinces.” When hundreds of survivors of a shipwrecked French fleet washed up on the beaches of Florida, they were put to the sword, beside a river the Spanish called Matanzas (“slaughters”). In other words, the first encounter between European Christians in America ended in a blood bath.
The much-ballyhooed arrival of the Pilgrims and Puritans in New England in the early 1600s was indeed a response to persecution that these religious dissenters had experienced in England. But the Puritan fathers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony did not countenance tolerance of opposing religious views. Their “city upon a hill” was a theocracy that brooked no dissent, religious or political.
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Comments (108)
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IN RESPONSE TO THE PERSON WHO INVOKED THE "Treaty of Tripoli" post to refute that America was founded as a Christian nation, read the following truth that supports the fact that America WAS founded as a Christian nation: Those who attribute the Treaty of Tripoli quote to George Washington make two mistakes. The first is that no statement in it can be attributed to Washington (the treaty did not arrive in America until months after he left office); Washington never saw the treaty; it was not his work; no statement in it can be ascribed to him. The second mistake is to divorce a single clause of the treaty from the remainder which provides its context. It would also be absurd to suggest that President Adams (under whom the treaty was ratified in 1797) would have endorsed or assented to any provision which repudiated Christianity. In fact, while discussing the Barbary conflict with Jefferson, Adams declared: The policy of Christendom has made cowards of all their sailors before the standard of Mahomet. It would be heroical and glorious in us to restore courage to ours. 25 Furthermore, it was Adams who declared: The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were. . . . the general principles of Christianity. . . . I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature. 26 Adams' own words confirm that he rejected any notion that America was less than a Christian nation. Source - David Barton, Wallbuilders
Posted by Barbara on May 5,2012 | 07:45 PM
Excellent article. There is a minor correction about the Mormons. Gov. Boggs of Missouri issued "Missouri Executive Order 44" also known as the Mormon Extermination Order. One line says "....Mormons.....must be exterminated or driven from the state". Extermination means to kill. Gov. Boggs did not care how the Mormons were gotten rid of from his state. The Mormons were driven away but many were killed and many died on the trek to what is now Utah. It is a shame that religious intolerance is still prevalent in the United States today.
Posted by jan on May 3,2012 | 04:26 PM
I was very surprised when I read this article because I didnt know about this kind of religious dispute .
Posted by Reshma Tamrakar on April 21,2012 | 05:08 PM
One can tell how intolerant American has become by just reading the comments. In fact, American is now more intolerant than Europe. I know, I have live in both.
Posted by A. Lochin on April 12,2012 | 07:50 PM
Thank you, Smithsonian, for underscoring the complexities that religious beliefs by people from many origins brought to the Americas. The last decades have somehow propagated the myth that America was founded as a Christian nation and that christians came to America in order to practice their faith. I see from many comments above that history is not a strong subject matter for many and many wish to see the myth or variations on it continue. I underscore the intent of the article emphasis on knowing the facts of history (and reading original text) in order to understand the basis for the "..wall of separation.." between church and state and the the freedom it allows for both church and state.
Posted by diane baumgart on April 9,2012 | 04:21 PM
From the comments received it seems that a series of articles, complete with quotes and references, is needed to detail the history of religion in America, point by point, and period by period. Such would provide teachers and university professors reasonably accurate resource information on this question. We cannot hope to solve the problem of separation of church and state until those ignorant of what has been a long-term national problem have an opportunity to examine the historical information. Included in such a series would be the divergent views of the various religious groups on specific points regarding the separation of church and state. Finally, the series should include the conditions across Europe that caused our founding fathers to take their positions regarding this question.
Posted by Charles on April 7,2012 | 02:58 PM
Thank you Luigi and the others here who are calling this article bogus. We the People are fed up with liberal attempts at hijacking truth and liberty, such as this article sponsored by Smithsonian! Once again, the "progressive" left is attempting to distort; even erase and rewrite facts in our history. Shame on you, Smithsonian, for your pathetic, transparent contribution. Our family will terminate monetary contributions until your lens is cleaned and restored. Good day.
Posted by Kim on April 3,2012 | 11:29 AM
What a bunch of leftists bunk. Get over it. For crying out loud. Than anti-Americanism couldn't get more transparent. At least you could practice more originality. So, basically, we're getting more of the left's main complaint: THE UNITED STATES ISN'T PERFECT! What nation is? Let's look at the OVERALL record. I'd say Americans have demonstrated tremendous understanding and acceptance. Strange that leftists like those at the government-run Smithsonian look to europe for enlightenment--hardly a place which has ever or currently practices tolerance of any kind.
Posted by Mario on April 3,2012 | 09:57 AM
This article shows how true it is by the comments. Everyone gets offended by the truth, especially the Christians LoL
Posted by John on March 30,2012 | 11:59 AM
Et tu Smithsonian. Well, it was to be expected. After all, you are in D.C. This is an attempt by a "has been" credible institution to create anti-religious feelings. Name a single country on earth where there are so many religions and so much tolerance for all of them. You cannot, because it doesn't exist. America is where the pilgrims and puritans came to escape religious persecution in Europe. What is my source of information? Well, first, it is myself. My family came to America in the 1700's [maybe even earlier] for that reason and I have my family tree with documentation to prove it. I know others who can trace their families back that far and they also have the same history. Don't let our domestic enemies re-write history to suit their agenda. They are only interested in tearing down everything our founders built for us. Contrary to the progressive agenda, the founding fathers did an amazing job of starting a country.
Posted by Luigi on March 21,2012 | 12:37 AM
To: Phillip C. Smith
I havent heard of a time where a muslim has hurt anyone or took over another's property. Ive never heard of a Muslim terrorizing someone in the states, and I urge you to read about the religion before making any comments. I live in a Muslim neighborhood and your comments are not true at all. Religion doesnt poison everything, its man who interprets religion to fit his needs.
Posted by Kathy Mustafa on March 10,2012 | 05:06 PM
Our founding fathers were excellent historians and realized that the enlightnements answer to the question of organized religion was Diesm (beleif soley based on reason with a supream being as only a watchmaket). While not popular,in one fale swoop they disarmed the eccelastic community. The beauty of Diesm is that it does not recognize any medium between the watchmaker and mankind (ex Jesus). This allows for true religous tolerance. Thomas Jefferson wrote "But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
Relious tollerance is the epitome of an oxymoron. Just look at the world we live in.There has never been nor will ever be any form of goverment that is based on religion (blind faith) that is successful. As a freethinker I have great respect for those who practice what they preach, just don't preach to me!
Posted by jim on January 23,2012 | 03:15 PM
"When contrasted with other nations of predominantly non-Christian religions the facts show that America has been far more free regarding religious choice than the article may lead the reader to believe."
I wonder where this self-flattery comes from. East Asian countries(China, Korea, and Japan) throughout their long histories rarely experienced religious persecutions (at least, not to the degree that they occurred in Europe and the US, and when they did happen, they were more about politics than about religion per se.) The arrival of Christianity in later history changed the whole religious landscape and religions conflicts and persecutions became a prominent theme in history.
I appreciate comments revealing historical complexities and nuances the article missed, but it seems most comments here sound so solipsistic, which I am not really surprised about.
Posted by Beilang on December 31,2011 | 03:15 AM
Re "religion poisons everything." If we're talking about religion and government, that's backwards--it's government that poisons. In the recent Smithsonian article about Roger Williams (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/God-Government-and-Roger-Williams-Big-Idea.html ) Williams makes the point that government, being intrinsically corrupt, must be kept away from religion. I think the current incompetence of our government to do even the basics, like creating a budget, is proof that Williams was right.
Posted by Ken Lyon on December 29,2011 | 12:37 PM
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