Tweet
Religion in the Civil War:
The Southern Perspective
Harry S. Stout
Professor of History, Religious Studies, and American Studies
Jonathan Edwards Professor of American Christianity, Yale Divinity School
©National Humanities Center
The Civil War began with a largely symbolic battle at Fort Sumter, a battle in which the only fatality was a (southern) horse. Yet it immediately raised to national crisis a conflict that had been spilling blood regionally for decades. The perspective of what would quickly become the Confederate States of America the southern perspective balanced on two points: first, that the individual state was sovereign, even to the point of secession; second, that the peculiar institution of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture. When news spread of the surrender of Fort Sumter on April 13 and of Lincolns call for 75,000 troops, one southern state after another seceded and the Confederacy (of 11 states in all) was born. With it was born the Souths embrace of religion as its moral defense and its motive force.
Its abundantly clear, as recent scholarship has demonstrated that religion stood at the center of the Civil War for both sides. Both North and South looked to God for meaning, and each side believed with equal fervor and certitude that God was on its side. Many ministers, generals, leaders, and editors went so far as to proclaim that God had ordained the war and would determine its length, its damages, and its outcome. The victor would show, in other words, whose side God really supported. New England political and religious leaders had long proclaimed themselves Gods chosen people. With the start of the Civil War, southerners laid claim to the title and, through speech, print, and ritual actions, proceeded to "prove" their claim.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/...fo/cwsouth.htm
The Southern Perspective
Harry S. Stout
Professor of History, Religious Studies, and American Studies
Jonathan Edwards Professor of American Christianity, Yale Divinity School
©National Humanities Center
The Civil War began with a largely symbolic battle at Fort Sumter, a battle in which the only fatality was a (southern) horse. Yet it immediately raised to national crisis a conflict that had been spilling blood regionally for decades. The perspective of what would quickly become the Confederate States of America the southern perspective balanced on two points: first, that the individual state was sovereign, even to the point of secession; second, that the peculiar institution of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture. When news spread of the surrender of Fort Sumter on April 13 and of Lincolns call for 75,000 troops, one southern state after another seceded and the Confederacy (of 11 states in all) was born. With it was born the Souths embrace of religion as its moral defense and its motive force.
Its abundantly clear, as recent scholarship has demonstrated that religion stood at the center of the Civil War for both sides. Both North and South looked to God for meaning, and each side believed with equal fervor and certitude that God was on its side. Many ministers, generals, leaders, and editors went so far as to proclaim that God had ordained the war and would determine its length, its damages, and its outcome. The victor would show, in other words, whose side God really supported. New England political and religious leaders had long proclaimed themselves Gods chosen people. With the start of the Civil War, southerners laid claim to the title and, through speech, print, and ritual actions, proceeded to "prove" their claim.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/...fo/cwsouth.htm
Comment