Separation of the Church from Political Authority

During the colonial era, there were many church-state relations models in different sections of the United States that attempted to separate religion from political office authority. The Anabaptists, Pietists, and Puritans were among them. This essay compares and contrasts each of these models. The essay also explores the importance of religious exams in colonial colonies.


After originating from Europe in the sixteenth century, the first Anabaptist movement emerged in Pennsylvania in 1683. (Williams 153). Many ancient Anabaptists insisted on adult membership in church and the separation of church and government. Under the model, Anabaptist groups adhered to biblical pacifism and insisted church discipline and on separating oneself from corruption in the world. On the other end, Pietism stemmed in later seventeenth century from the renewal movements of the German Lutheran and renewed churches(Williams 154). Unlike Anabaptism, the movement sought to individual conversion in contrast to adhering to creeds, living morally, studying the bible, and congregating in small groups. Similar to Anabaptism, the model inclined to be more introspective, individualistic, and emotional. Adherents consider the government as a constituent of the world and that believer ought to live faithfully independent of political authority.


Puritans theology constituted a group of reformed Protestants from England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Allitt 122). Puritans in the U.S., comprising the colonists settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. According to (Eck37) God ordained the governments to enforce Christian practices in the world. Therefore, model differentiates from the Anabaptists and Piets. In a bid to serve distinct ends, the model considers that the government and the church need to remain separate but to be close to one another.


The religious tests played a role in even without an established church. Constitutional convectionsprovided brief provisions concerning barring religious tests for officeholder, state courts thus considering churches as private institutions.


To sum up, the U.S. had a well-established state-religion relationship during its colonial era. Anabaptism and pietism modelsinsisted on the separation of the church from the government while the Puritans considered that God ordained the government to supervise the church.


Works Cited


Allitt, Patrick, ed. Major problems in American religious history: Documents and essays. Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.


Eck, Diana L. "A New Religious America: How a" Christian Country." Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation (2001): 26-79.


Williams, Peter W. America's religions: From their origins to the twenty-first century. University of Illinois Press, 2002.

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