National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: Religion and the Argument for American Independence
Young scholars examine how religion affected arguments justifying American independence. They read and analyze primary source documents, and write an essay analyzing how Americans used religious arguments to justify revolution against a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: The First Great Awakening
High schoolers examine the First Great Awakening and how it affected religious belief in colonial America. They read and analyze primary source documents, explore various websites, and write a five-paragraph essay examining the beliefs...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Divining America: Religion in American History
A collection of scholarly essays consisting of instructional guides accompanied by commentary. Designed to help teachers of American history bring students to a greater understanding of the role religion has played in the development of...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Divining America: Religion and the American Revolution
The National Humanities Center offers an article on religion and the Revolutionary War with suggestions for projects. It is full of information about how religion influenced people to support war.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Church of England in America
Article from the National Humanities Center details the beliefs of the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church. In the Student Discussion section there is information on the differences in Anglicanism and other Protestant...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Evangelicalism as a Social Movement
Resource in which the author helps us understand Evangelicalism as a religious movement as well as a social movement that ultimately helped transfom American society. Links to online resources.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Religious Diversity in America
Article provides an overview discussion of an ethnic and religious pluralistic society explaining distinguishing factors of religious life in North America. Includes guideance for student discussion, scholar debate and links to related...
Library of Congress
Loc: Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
A wonderful, comprehensive site from the Library of Congress that examines all facets of the religious origins of America.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Ap Us History: Colonial America
AP U.S. History unit on Colonial America. Multi-media resources, interactive assignments, and assessment.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Us History: Colonial America
US History learning module on Colonial America. Complete set of learning materials, assignments, projects, and assessment.
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Great Awakening
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students solve a problem surrounding a historical question by reading primary source documents. This historical inquiry lesson plan about the Great Awakening allows students to critically examine three...
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Colonial Religion
The site provides a detailed overview of role religion played in the lives of the colonists. Content explores how religion played a part in the Revolution, and the statute for religious freedom, as well as providing a lesson plan, a link...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Colonial Religion
A collection that uses primary sources to explore religion during the Colonial period of United States History.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Religious Pluralism in the Middle Colonies
Essay looks at the phenomenon of religious pluralism in the middle colonies. Author discusses religious sects in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, as well as African Americans and Native Americans.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Religion, Women, and the Family
This National Humanities Center site from the University of Delaware discusses family life, childrearing, and the importance of religion in colonial America as written about in various books.
Tom Richey
Tom richey.net: The Great Awakening: Religious Revival in Colonial America
Presents key ideas for a discussion of what led to the Great Awakening religious movement.
Other
Seton Hall University: Toleration and Religious Liberty
This essay from the Seton Hall University describes the transition from intolerance of Catholics to religious liberty in America.
Other
Our American Revolution: Revolutionary Faiths
Read about how religious belief shaped ideas in colonial America. There is the tug between faith and reason, freedom of religion, and politics and religion.
Other
Book Review: Becoming America:the Revolution Before 1776
A detailed review by James T. Kloppenberg, constructively criticizing the author's (Jon Butler) thesis that ties between colonial religion and politics are exaggerated.
Tom Richey
Tom richey.net: Religious Freedom in Colonial New England [Ppt]
Presents key ideas for examining the roles Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson played in promoting religious toleration in colonial America.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Religion in Early Virginia
This examination of religion in Virginia gives you an idea of where Anglicanism fit into colonial life there.
Other
American revolution.org: Sins of the Fathers: Religion and Revolution
An academic essay describing the ways in which "religion is an active if not a determinative" cause for the American Revolution. The essay describes three influential areas: (1) religion and liberty, (2) religion and community, and (3)...
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Archiving Early America: Franklin and the Presbyterians
A detailed essay describing an incident having to do with the sermons of Samuel Hemphill within the Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in 1734. Benjamin Franklin supported Hemphill.
Victorian Web
Victorian Web: Methodism
This essay discusses the cultural influence of the Methodist movement. The author theorizes that this factor may have had more impact on England's literary ideas than that of enhancing or neutralizing the revolutionary fervor of the...