Early American Separation of Church and State

Early America is often portrayed as a land of religious freedom, a land where people came to escape being persecuted on the basis of their faith. However, a closer look and analysis into early American Christianity shows us that this early religious freedom was limited; not every faith was included in those sentiments and those who lacked any faith or religious affiliation were viewed as a threat to the moral fiber of America. There are many events throughout American history that can showcase this, the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials, the persecution of Quakers in Puritan New England, and more.

These strong Christian views that often led to the persecution of those who differed also made it a challenge to truly separate legal and political aspects of American life from Christianity. An example of this can be seen in “The relations of Christianity to law and the legal profession: a discourse” published by Reverend Ebenezer Platt Rogers in 1852. This document showcases the early American mindset that Christianity should be engrained into all aspects of society. In this particular discourse, the Reverend is addressing specifically lawyers and the importance of their religious and moral character.

Reverend Rogers states in this discourse that, “No social organization, […] could exist, much less could it advance and secure the best interests of men, which was not based upon the statues of the Moral Law.”[1]  Moral Law he explains is the divine law of God that rules over the mental and moral realm of people. Though he says that no one on Earth can truly enforce it, he does express that it is an essential foundation of life and he believe that because “lawyers are the leading men, […] and exert a greater influence than any other class of men, in guiding and controlling the public mind,” that they should be held to higher moral standards and that it is their duty to practice earthly law in a way that corresponds with moral law.[2]

These viewpoints were not uncommon in early America, and though today we often discuss the ideas of religious freedom and the separation of church and state, it is important to remember that these ideas were much more conservative than what we think of today. Even founding father, James Madison, who was a very large supporter and advocate for the separation of church and state could not fully separate his religious beliefs from his role as president of the United States. In 1814,

Reverend Ebenezer Platt Rogers
Madison made presidential proclamation 18 which called for a day to be observed by the people of the United States “as a day of public humiliation and fasting and of prayer to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these states, his blessing on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace.”[3] While in this proclamation Madison does express that the day of observance is not forced, but rather that people should voluntarily gather within their chosen religious assemblies to participate, it still shows the role that Christianity was playing in the government.

The debate over how much religion should be involved in law and politics still continues today, while this country may have been founded on the ideas of religious freedom and the separation of church and state, it is clear that those beliefs were not always fully followed, especially in early America.


[1] Rogers, Ebenezer Platt. The relations of Christianity to law and the legal profession : a discourse. Charleston: Walker & James, 1852. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed June 3, 2025). Page 10. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CY0100987114/SABN?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-SABN&xid=0ecbcfef&pg=7.

[2] Rogers, Ebenezer Platt. The relations of Christianity to law and the legal profession : a discourse. Charleston: Walker & James, 1852. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed June 3, 2025). Page 9. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CY0100987114/SABN?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-SABN&xid=0ecbcfef&pg=7.

[3] Madison, James. 1814. Proclamation 18. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-18-recommending-day-public-humiliation-fasting-and-prayer

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