Religion in New Spain and New France Discovery Exploration and Immigration God Glory and Gold People immigrate because o It s there because they can o The possibility of material gain Marco Polo 13th century goes to Asia and brings back material gain which inspires people to explore Columbus his sponsors want him to find gold 1521 Cortes reduces Aztec empire Spanish rule was ugly bad treatment of Native Americans there was a process of force when converting them to Christianity All come to America with a mythopoeic view of the world for example Fountain of Youth Cabeza de Vaca Galveston to Mexico City he washes ashore at Galveston he gets along with the Indians and walks with them to Mexico City o He is treated as a god by Indians on his journey and writes a letter about it this gets everyone excited Spanish believe you must change cultural habits to change Native American religion Mussion church state trade Eusebo Kino 1687 1711 most famous for his mission in Arizona Fr Juniper Serra Catholics campaign to make him a saint which didn t happen because he treated the Indians poorly Native American religions spirits nature orality performance creation cyclical time o Tell stories from beginning to end o Everything is ritualized Guadalupe 1531 virgin Mary in Mexican Christianity o Center of attention in Mexican Christianity is Mary not Jesus Converting the Soul The French s mindset straight to the soul Giovanni da Verrazano o Italian sailing under French flag o Doesn t turn out well but spurs exploration Huron Fur Trade beaver pelts are in demand because they shed water driver of exploration those in the fur trade are known to be no good because they are savage Jolliet French explorer Marquette missionary that traveled in a canoe Jesuits missions to Iroquois o They show up in Indian villages but don t build permanent set ups like the Spanish Puritans in Old and New England Reformation to Founding of Rhode Island Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century Perception of clerical abuses in Roman Catholic Church Humanism respect for authority of human choice New religious movements Early nationalism Catalyst was Martin Luther o Very articulate critic of Catholic Church o Gets in trouble with them o Publishes with the printing press Indulgence Sales o Time off of purgatory o St Peter s is built with indulgence money o Tetzel s certificates walks around selling indulgences o Luther says this is corrupt Revolt o Luther writes 85 Thesises to elicit truth o Nailed them to the door of the Catholic church Beginnings of Lutheranism o Translates the bible o Priesthood of all believers everyone can be a priest o Streamlined Catholicism o By faith alone not merit Calvin o Reformer o institutes of the catholic religion o predestination born to go to heaven or hell o just follow the rules because God said so o Puritanism Lutheranism Calvinism Henry VIII o 6 wives o needs a male heir and blames the women he is married to for not being able to produce them English Reformation 1534 Henry is now the supreme head of church in England Edward VI is his heir hemophilic so he doesn t live for long he was a Protestant His sister Mary rules after Elizabeth I via media political solution to bring peace Puritans 1570 Nothing is pure enough for them Calvinist ideas Don t like Catholic regalia Virtue hard work frugality punctuality etc o Hard work and frugality are their 2 cardinal virtues Important steps towards capitalism Puritans Come to North America Believe North America is a promised land Believe god has brought them here Believe god will keep them safe and let them prosper if the follow virtues Bring the bible to North America and publish it Holy Commonwealths Communities that they found in which religious leaders have authority over city on a hill they have a view of America as an exceptional nation o Must tell story of conversion to elders for them to make sure it is valid civil life Civil authorities enforce rules Must meet certain standards o If not you won t have civil rights Punishment for those who aren t Puritan Purity Corporate Purity Community of the saints they must be saved Guard against imposters Discipline is important Test of relation to conversion Process of conversion is 10 steps Plymouth plantation The meetinghouse o Simplicity o Not a church o Civil meetingroom o Church and state are intertwined celebration Arrive on boat Arbella in Boston 1630 Thanksgiving 1621 make it through the first winter and have a 3 day o Governer gives a speech on the boat foundation of ideology The Migration of Jews to America European Persecution Expulsion in 1492 Christian victory at Granada leads to Christine regime and campaign against Jews Spanish Inquisition and conversos Christians believe Jews may be harboring a secret alliance with Muslims Spanish inquisition torture Jews and Muslims Conversos fake converters Sephardim Sepharad Hebrew for Spain urban sophisticated educated Jews Golden Age was 13th century in Spain Jews are integrated into society Recife Jewish migration to Africa Turkey and other countries but especially Amstradam Eventually migrate to America Recife 1630 living there as secret Jews under Portuguese rule Jews in New Netherlands 1654 23 Jews arrive in New York Rent quarters and remain there Resistance of Peter Stuyvesant and other colony leaders but policy of religious freedom exists Begin building synagogues Charleston has a big Jewish member base Problems of Jewish Religious Life Small communities o New York 30 Jewish families in 1773 o 1770s less than 2 thousand Jews in America o 3 rabbis total in the new world but NONE in America Chazzan Cantor In Mushnah and Talmud spotter or seer Led students through a common text surrogate rabbi Isaac Leeser cantor begins to preach sermons in 1829 o Most prolific Jewish writer of his time Ashkenazim From Hebrew for Germany Refers to geographical area of Jewish population in Europe East Europe and especially Russia Ashkenazim vs Sephardim o Has chanting o Vocalization of Hebrew o Liturgical differences o From countryside o More emotional and less intellectual Most current Jews are Ashkenazim In America o Worship with Sephardic Jews until the early 19th Century o Increased immigration especially after 1830 o Form their own synagogues Reform Judaism in America Sephardic Jews basically disappear Philadelphia divides into the two and moves towards reform Reform of diet dress prayer etc Jewish role in bringing Jewish literature art etc to America o