United States Religious Groups Overview - International Institute

New Nation
The American Revolution and the birth of the new nation had considerable impact on religious groups. No denomination escaped the disruption and dislocation of the war years. Perhaps the Congregationalists and Presbyterians were least affected. Baptists and Methodists prospered, multiplying in numbers and would consider to do so as the nation expanded. As the church of the royal officials, Anglicans (Church of England) were a casualty of the American Revolution, losing their privileges, prestige, and support; but in time and with new leadership, as the Protestant Episcopal Church, it made a fairly significant recovery. Mennonites, Moravians, and Dunkers became more isolated as small units within the larger society. Quakers exercised more influence than the numbers would seem to warrant, but internal divisions caused them to enter a period of decline. Roman Catholics were a small minority concentrated almost exclusively in Maryland and Pennsylvania, but steady growth began after the Revolution, and huge gains would result in the upcoming periods of immigration.

Protestant Denominations
It took most Protestant denominations until about 1800 to regroup and reorder their forces. And there were challenges to face as the population began moving westward. Seeking to respond to a need for action, Protestants began to emphasize revivalist preaching. This wave of revivals came to be known as the “Second Great Awakening,” sweeping across the country for nearly two generations. This new revivalism differed from the first “Awakening” under Jonathan Edwards in which the people seemed to wait for the outpouring of God’s spirit. This time, the revival became a technique calculated to cause hearers to make a decision and act upon it. On the frontier, a distinctive feature was the “camp meeting,” developed by Presbyterian minister James McGready just at the very end of the 18th century. One effect of the camp meetings was swelling membership of the surrounding churches, particularly among the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, an outgrowth of the great revival of 1800, dates its origin from 1810, in Dickson County, Tennessee. On the urban front, Charles Finney’s controversial revivals made an impact.

Protestant expansion via missionary activities was employed as the frontier moved westward. Missionary societies were organized in the East. Touring missionaries functioned in much the same way as the Methodist circuit riders. The effective process employed by the Methodists was to recruit a traveling elder and lay out a circuit that would take him to the newest settlements. Overseas missions were another outgrowth of the religious enthusiasm of the Great Awakening. Reports of these enterprises by the religious press excited church people in America who contributed to the support of missionary efforts.

Volunteer Societies
Volunteer societies set about with purposes of local reform and service. The early 19th century saw the formation of the American Bible Society, the American Education Society, the American Colonization Society, the American Sunday School Union, the American Tract Society, the American Temperance Society, the American Peace Society, and the American Antislavery Society.

Education and the Church
Churches established academies and colleges in huge numbers. Most of the 516 colleges and universities founded before the Civil War had a religious affiliation. Another Protestant educational activity was to found theological seminaries for the training of the clergy.

Slavery Issues and the Church
Long before the eruption of the Civil War, the disruptive effect of the slavery issue upon churches appeared. It was a contributing factor the Presbyterian Old School—New School division in 1837. As early as 1835, the Central Evangelical Association proposed that it be considered as the nucleus of a network of churches which among other practices would take a stand against slavery. In 1843, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was formed, including abolitionism as one of its tests for membership. A Baptist Free Mission was formed in 1843. A group of Lutherans formed the Franckean Synod in 1837, denying membership to those who sanctioned slavery. Among the Lutherans, the General Synod was able to steer a neutral course. The southern portion of the Methodist General Conference departed in 1844 to form the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Southern Baptist Convention formed in 1845. Congregationalists moved into the abolitionist camp. The Roman Catholics and the Episcopalians tended to remain aloof from the controversy, although proponents of a slave-based social order spoke out while opponents remained silent.

Accessing Religious Records
By learning the religious affiliation and practices of our ancestors, we gain glimpses into their daily lives. We come closer to visualizing them; we gain insight into their life desires and values. Moreover, bits and pieces of life stories surface in the records kept by the religious institutions which claimed their allegiance. Often when we identify a family’s religious connections, we acquire clues to ethnic background, migration patterns, social standing and family relationships.

Before seeking religious records, one ought to thoroughly examine family documents in search of clues as to which religious body/bodies might have records of an ancestor. In particular, one should look for baptismal and confirmation certificates, marriage records and newspaper accounts, obituaries and memorial books. Certainly, we should give attention to similar documents and clippings for siblings, parents, and children in addition to those for the “target” ancestor. We must remember also that our ancestors may have changed religious affiliation during their lifetimes.

Types of Religious Records
In our search for religious records, we can hope to find membership lists, minutes of various organizations, biographical notes on members and pastors, communicant and confirmation lists, births or christenings and baptisms, marriage records, and funeral notes. Rarely, however, will one find all these types of records within the local or regional archives of a particular religious body; there is little uniformity.

Locating Religious Records
To locate religious records is a rewarding but challenging task. Central archival holdings are primarily historical and doctrinal. Usually the local church, synagogue, temple, school, etc. is the best source for the kinds of records we seek as genealogists.

It is fortunate that so many of the groups from which we seek information have excellent web sites. Invariably they are far more current and easier to access than the books we could list in an extensive bibliography. Choose from the provided lists of web sites those which have particular bearing on your interests. Then look not only at the page cited but those linked to it. You can acquire an incredible amount of information and insight by following this procedure. Frequently, these sites provide directories to those community-based churches or other centers of worship and education which may have the records you seek.

Two web sites have been prepared by the author of this material, providing links to pages that focus on the history, headquarters, archives etc. of religious bodies in America:


 * Protestant Denominations established in Colonial America (1600-1800)
 * Religious Groups 1800-2000

Microfilmed Records
Microfilmed records from many locations and for a wide variety of religious groups are listed in the online catalog on the FamilySearch website and can be ordered for a minimal rental fee at any local LDS FamilySearch Center and increasingly at a number of public libraries.

These films are held for a month for convenient viewing at that same location. Use the online catalog:


 * 1) Next, select “Place Search.” The is the quickest way to determine what records have been filmed for a location of interest
 * 2) Once you are on the page for that particular location, scroll down to “Church Records” and study what is available for the geographical area selected.
 * 3) Proceed to Film Notes and make a printout or copy the titles, film numbers, and/or other pertinent information to take to a local FamilySearch Center to check on availability and to order the films.

Also online at FamilySearch or available at the FamilySearch Centers is the International Genealogical Index, much of its information coming from church records.

PERSI
Family researchers should make use of the PERSI index, available at libraries in printed form. The PERSI resource is also available on CD Rom and as a subscription database from Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest. PERSI is the shorthand version for Periodical Search Index which was developed by the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. PERSI is a comprehensive subject index covering genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800. There will be many articles referencing church records. Remember that if you can’t locate the periodical listed in the index, you can acquire a photocopy of it from the Allen County Library for a small fee.

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections
The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) is online and at many libraries. That’s where you can get a lead to the personal records kept by ministers or other church officials. Remember that ministers and evangelists kept members’ vital records in personal journals and diaries, and those records usually went with the minister.

Historical Societies
Don’t overlook private and state and county historical societies as a potential source of the records you need. Likewise, check with university libraries, state and regional archives, and genealogical libraries. Denominational colleges are a rich source of religious records for affiliated groups. At any of these locations you might find collections of manuscripts or journals, clipping files, microfilmed records as well as books and other printed materials. Even the local city library is likely to have a section of reference material of local interest. Look for county histories, anniversary/centennial publications, church histories, published family histories, etc. Compare what you can find in your own family records with what you learn about the presence of religious institutions in the community. View newspaper microfilm in the locale as another means of identifying the religious affiliation of an ancestor.

Variations in Records
Recognize that not all religious groups maintain the same set of records. A prerequisite to knowing what kind of records might be available is to know something of the history, beliefs, and practices of a particular religious body. Usually, their records are for purposes other than genealogical, but pieces of desired information may be included. Second, one needs to learn the local setting to be able to compare ancestral data with a religious group’s presence in a specific geographical area during the same time period. Third, pay attention to clues to the ethnic origins of your ancestors, recognizing that religious heritage and culture usually accompanied immigrants.

Immigrants
During the 19th century and into the early 20th century, large groups of immigrants arrived on American shores. These immigrants brought their religions and ethnic traditions with them and usually settled among those with similar backgrounds. There were times, however, when our ancestors simply joined or attended whatever church was nearest to them.

Other Sources
County history books, family memorabilia, Bible records, biographical manuscripts, newspaper accounts, obituaries, cemetery and funeral home records, legal documents, diaries, letters, family histories and charts—these are but a few of the sources that may point the way to the appropriate religious body where records might be obtained.

Additional Information
For more information about religions in the United States from the early 1800s to early 1900s, see:


 * Emerging US Religious Groups, Early 19th Century (National Institute)


 * Religions of Immigrants to the US, Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries (National Institute)

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