The First Prejudice: Religious Tolerance and Intolerance in Early America (Early American Studies)

In many ways, religion was the United States' first prejudice—both an early source of bigotry and the object of the first sustained efforts to limit its effects. Spanning more than two centuries across colonial British America and the United States, __The First Prejudice__ offers a groundbreaking exploration of the early history of persecution and toleration. The twelve essays in this volume were composed by leading historians with an eye to the larger significance of religious tolerance and intolerance. Individual chapters examine the prosecution of religious crimes, the biblical sources of tolerance and intolerance, the British imperial context of toleration, the bounds of Native American spiritual independence, the nuances of anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism, the resilience of African American faiths, and the challenges confronted by skeptics and freethinkers. __The First Prejudice__ presents a revealing portrait of the rhetoric, regulations, and customs that shaped the relationships between people of different faiths in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century America. It relates changes in law and language to the lived experience of religious conflict and religious cooperation, highlighting the crucial ways in which they molded U.S. culture and politics. By incorporating a broad range of groups and religious differences in its accounts of tolerance and intolerance, __The First Prejudice__ opens a significant new vista on the understanding of America's long experience with diversity.

In many ways, religion was the United States' first prejudice—both an early source of bigotry and the object of the first sustained efforts to limit its effects. Spanning more than two centuries across colonial British America and the United States, The First Prejudice offers a groundbreaking exploration of the early history of persecution and toleration. The twelve essays in this volume were composed by leading historians with an eye to the larger significance of religious tolerance and intolerance. Individual chapters examine the prosecution of religious crimes, the biblical sources of tolerance and intolerance, the British imperial context of toleration, the bounds of Native American spiritual independence, the nuances of anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism, the resilience of African American faiths, and the challenges confronted by skeptics and freethinkers.

The First Prejudice presents a revealing portrait of the rhetoric, regulations, and customs that shaped the relationships between people of different faiths in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century America. It relates changes in law and language to the lived experience of religious conflict and religious cooperation, highlighting the crucial ways in which they molded U.S. culture and politics. By incorporating a broad range of groups and religious differences in its accounts of tolerance and intolerance, The First Prejudice opens a significant new vista on the understanding of America's long experience with diversity.

In many ways, religion was the United States' first prejudice—both an early source of bigotry and the object of the first sustained efforts to limit its effects. Spanning more than two centuries across colonial British America and the United States, The First Prejudice offers a groundbreaking exploration of the early history of persecution and toleration. The twelve essays in this volume were composed by leading historians with an eye to the larger significance of religious tolerance and intolerance. Individual chapters examine the prosecution of religious crimes, the biblical sources of tolerance and intolerance, the British imperial context of toleration, the bounds of Native American spiritual independence, the nuances of anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism, the resilience of African American faiths, and the challenges confronted by skeptics and freethinkers. The First Prejudice presents a revealing portrait of the rhetoric, regulations, and customs that shaped the relationships between people of different faiths in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century America. It relates changes in law and language to the lived experience of religious conflict and religious cooperation, highlighting the crucial ways in which they molded U.S. culture and politics. By incorporating a broad range of groups and religious differences in its accounts of tolerance and intolerance, The First Prejudice opens a significant new vista on the understanding of America's long experience with diversity. - Publisher. Spanning more than two centuries across colonial British America and the United States, this book offers an exploration of the early history of persecution and toleration. In many ways, religion was the United States' first prejudice, both an early source of bigotry and the object of the first sustained efforts to limit its effects. The twelve essays in this volume were composed by leading historians with an eye to the larger significance of religious tolerance and intolerance. Individual chapters examine the prosecution of religious crimes, the biblical sources of tolerance and intolerance, the British imperial context of toleration, the bounds of Native American spiritual independence, the nuances of anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism, the resilience of African American faiths, and the challenges confronted by skeptics and freethinkers. The book presents a revealing portrait of the rhetoric, regulations, and customs that shaped the relationships between people of different faiths in seventeenth and eighteenth century America. It relates changes in law and language to the lived experience of religious conflict and religious cooperation, highlighting the crucial ways in which they molded U.S. culture and politics. By incorporating a broad range of groups and religious differences in its accounts of tolerance and intolerance, the book opens a new vista on the understanding of America's long experience with diversity Faith, reason, and enlightenment : the cultural sources of toleration in early America / Christopher S. Grenda Amalek and the rhetoric of extermination / John Corrigan The episcopate, the British union, and the failure of religious settlement in colonial British America / Ned Landsman Practicing toleration in Dutch New Netherland / Joyce D. Goodfriend Heretics, blasphemers, and Sabbath breakers : the prosecution of religious crime in early America / Susan Juster Persecuting Quakers? : liberty and toleration in early Pennsylvania / Andrew R. Murphy Native freedom? : Indians and religious tolerance in early America / Richard W. Pointer Slaves to intolerance : African American Christianity and religious freedom in early America / Jon Sensbach Catholics, Protestants, and the clash of civilizations in early America / Owen Stanwood Anti-Semitism, toleration, and appreciation : the changing relations of Jews and Gentiles in early America / William Pencak The "catholic spirit prevailing in our country" : America's moderate religious revolution / Chris Benek The boundaries of toleration and tolerance : religious infidelity in the early American republic / Christopher Grasso. Biographical note: Chris Beneke is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Valente Center for Arts and Sciences at Bentley University and author of Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism. Christopher S. Grenda is Associate Professor of History at Bronx Community College of the City University of New York Leading religious historians connect changes in law and rhetoric to daily cooperation and conflict in early America. These essays examine such topics as Native American spiritual life, the biblical sources of tolerance and intolerance, contemporary philosophies of religious liberty, and the resilience of African American faiths.