Revolutionary Anglicanism

About this book

"Decisions of loyalism or patriotism were rarely easy during the American Revolution. The colonial Anglican clergy, all of whom had taken oaths to the King and his church, faced a particularly difficult dilemma. Revolutionary governments demanded that they repudiate their oaths, end prayers for the King, and alter the liturgy.". "Revolutionary Anglicanism examines the plight of these colonial clergymen, tracking down every one of the over three hundred Anglican ministers in the thirteen colonies to assess their diverse political opinions, responses to political and military crises, and collective strategies for personal and institutional survival.". "By emphasizing the Revolution as a rejection not only of the English monarch but of his church, Revolutionary Anglicanism implicitly challenges the longstanding tradition which has placed Puritanism or evangelical religion at the center of the early American religious experience."--BOOK JACKET.