The Emergence of Religious Toleration in Eighteenth-century New England: Baptists, Congregationalists, and the Contribution of John Callender 1706-1748 (Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte)

This book examines the life and work of the Reverend John Callender (1706-1748) within the context of the emergence of religious toleration in New England in the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a relatively recent endeavor in light of the well-worn theme of persecution in colonial American religious history. New England Puritanism was the culmination of different shades of transatlantic puritan piety, and it was the Puritan's pious adherence to the Covenant model that compelled them to punish dissenters such as Quakers and Baptists. Eventually, a number of factors contributed to the decline of persecution, and the subsequent emergence of toleration. For the Baptists, toleration was first realized in 1718, when Elisha Callender was ordained pastor of the First Baptist Church of Boston by Congregationalist Cotton Mather. John Callender, Elisha Callender's nephew, benefited from Puritan and Baptist influences, and his life and work serves as one example of the nascent religious understanding between Baptists and Congregationalists during this specific period. Callender's efforts are demonstrated through his pastoral ministry in Rhode Island and other parts of New England, through his relationships with notable Congregationalists, and through his writings. Callender's publications contributed to the history of the colony of Rhode Island, and provided source material for the work of notable Baptist historian, Isaac Backus, in his own struggle for religious liberty a generation later. Contents 5 Chapter 1: Introduction 9 Chapter 2: Backgrounds of Puritanism in New England 25 Chapter 3: Emergence of Religious Toleration in Puritan New England 41 Chapter 4: The First Baptist Church of Boston and the Influence of the Callenders 70 Chapter 5: Religious Toleration between Boston Congregationalists and Baptists 95 Chapter 6: John Callender: Early Life and Ministr 121 Chapter 7: John Callender: Later Life and Ministry 144 Chapter 8: Callender’s Historical Discourse and Religious Toleration 181 Chapter 9: Callender’s Historical Method and His Contribution to Isaac Backus 209 Chapter 10: Conclusion 233 Bibliography 240 Index 256 Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte first began publication in 1925 and can claim to be one of the most tradition-rich historical book series. It presents research on the history of Christian churches and dogmas through the ages but also publishes papers on related disciplines such as archeology, history of art and literary studies. One of the series' leading features is its consistent striving to combine historical-methodical precision with systematic contextualization of each examined topic. In recent years the series has increasingly publishedstudies on themes relating to the history of Christia Back cover: Numerous studies have analyzed the New England Puritan persecution of dissenters in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This book examines the emergence of religious toleration by revisiting the circumstances leading to the first ordination of a Baptist by a Congregationalist in 1718. This event prefigured the work of John Callender (1706-1748), Baptist pastor and historian, whose life and work contributed to religious toleration in New England in the years leading up to the First Great Awakening in America