The Presbyterian Enlightenment: the Confluence of Evangelical and Enlightenment Thought in British America
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Masters Theses The Graduate School Spring 2018 The rP esbyterian Enlightenment: The confluence of evangelical and enlightenment thought in British America Brandon S. Durbin Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019 Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Cultural History Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religion Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Natural Law Commons, Other Philosophy Commons, Political History Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Religion Law Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Durbin, Brandon S., "The rP esbyterian Enlightenment: The onfluec nce of evangelical and enlightenment thought in British America" (2018). Masters Theses. 550. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/550 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Presbyterian Enlightenment: The Confluence of Evangelical and Enlightenment Thought in British America Brandon S. Durbin A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History May 2018 FACULTY COMMITTEE: Committee Chair: Dr. Kevin Hardwick Committee Members/ Readers: Dr. Andrew Witmer Dr. John J. Butt Acknowledgments This paper would not be possible without the assistance of many individuals and institutions of whom I am greatly indebted to. As in many summers past, I spent it working for the Westmoreland County Historical Society at Historic Hanna’s Town. No doubt, the many hours I spent providing tours, reading and learning about the Scots-Irish Presbyterians there helped inspire me towards this project. I am grateful to Joanna Moyer, Lisa Hays, and the many devoted volunteers for permitting me to use the brief amounts of spare time available between guided tours and managing the site to read many of the scholarly works that helped shape this thesis. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, who helped me not only develop this project, but also provided me with invaluable advice and suggestions during this process. My thesis director Dr. Kevin Hardwick first recommended that I investigate the Presbyterian Minister Samuel Davies’s sermons. Following his advice, I found a treasure trove of material that made this project possible. I would also like to thank Dr. Hardwick for guiding me towards many of the critical sources in the development of this project. He read over many of the drafts and provided me with effective feedback that not only helped me become a stronger writer, but a better historian. The other members of my committee were also instrumental in this project. Dr. Andrew Witmer had to listen several of my early ideas for a thesis project, and he provided me great advice on how to conceptualize a thesis project. His comments on my draft and on sources to investigate ensured the success of this project. The third member of my committee, Dr. John Butt helped lead me towards phenomenal sources relating to Scottish history and the Scottish Enlightenment. Dr. Rebecca Brannon also assisted in this process by suggesting several ii books that proved very useful. His expertise in that area made him an asset, especially in the earliest phases of the project. Other professors assisted in sparking my interest in religious history. Dr. W. Thomas Mainwaring of Washington & Jefferson College advised me as I worked on my Independent Study and Honors Project on the Frist Great Awakening as an undergrad. It was during this time I first encountered the historical figures I returned to in greater depth nearly two years later. I attribute much of my success in graduate school to his excellent advice during our weekly meetings. Of course, I need to thank the Lancaster County Historical Society for allowing me to spend hours in their archive while I pestered them with questions. Their library contained some of the local sources that not only added some flavor to the paper, but also helped contextualize several of the Presbyterians ministers involved in this project. Similarly, I would like to thank the Library of Congress and the staff that assisted me in my research. Several of their reading room managers worked with me as I hunted for sources and they gave me permission to read some of the original printings of the sermons contained in this project. Most importantly, I would like to thank my fiancée, Jaqualynn Anderson who had immense patience in putting up with my late nights, with time I was unable to spend with her, and with my incessant rambling about the minutest details about this paper. Without her advice and encouragement, I would never have been able to accomplish this task. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments...........................................................................................ii Abstract...........................................................................................................v Introduction.....................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Presbyterian Legacy....................................................................14 The Rise of Scottish Presbyterianism.................................................16 British Politics in the Age of Enlightenment......................................19 Presbyterianism in the New World.....................................................26 The Presbyterian Awakening..............................................................31 Education in the Era of Revivalism....................................................43 Chapter 2: Presbyterian Virtue......................................................................48 The ‘Old’ Virtue..................................................................................49 The Scottish Enlightenment................................................................51 Adopting the Scottish Enlightenment.................................................55 The ‘New’ Virtue................................................................................60 The Case of John Witherspoon...........................................................68 Chapter 3: Presbyterian Resistance...............................................................75 The Development of Protestant Resistance Theology........................78 American Presbyterian Resistance in the 1750s.................................87 The Collapse of the British-American Covenant..............................107 Conclusion...................................................................................................114 Bibliography................................................................................................118 iv Abstract Eighteenth-Century British American Presbyterian ministers incorporated covenantal theology, ideas from the Scottish Enlightenment, and resistance theory in their sermons. The sermons of Presbyterian ministers strongly indicate the intermixing of enlightenment and evangelical ideas. Congregants heard and read these sermons, spreading these ideas to the average colonist. This combination helps explain why American Presbyterians were so apt to resist British rule during the American Revolution. Protestant covenantal theology, derived from Protestant reformers like John Calvin and John Knox, emphasized virtue and duty. This covenant affected both the people and their rulers. When rulers failed to uphold their covenant with God, the people no longer had to obey that ruler. Covenantal theology migrated to the American colonies through Scottish and Irish immigrants. These ideas spread rapidly during the First Great Awakening, especially through important ministers like Gilbert Tennent. Tennent established an academy in Neshaminy to provide an education for future ministers, which his students emulated. The Scottish Enlightenment arose during the eighteenth-century but was often unpopular among Scottish Presbyterians, but American Presbyterians were more willing to adopt these ideas. Presbyterian ministers often espoused Hutcheson’s moral sense and Reid’s common sense. When John Witherspoon reached America, it was already in the process of adopting the Scottish Enlightenment, providing him the opportunity to incorporate it into the curriculum of the College of New Jersey as its President. Ideas generated in British Enlightenment combined with older covenantal theology to create an American resistance theology. Presbyterian ministers incorporated enlightenment virtue, the Vindiciae, and John Locke into their sermons to promote v resistance to tyranny. This was a common refrain for ministers during the wars with France and often these sermons reached American militias who participated in that war. When British Parliament and King George III asserted their power over the British American colonies during the 1760s, American