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Jan 1, 1095
Crusades (Importance)
The Crusades spread Christianity began the persecution against non-Christians that continued with the Spanish Inquisition. The Crusades also dramatically increased the wealth and power of the Roman Catholic Church. -
Jan 1, 1521
Protestant Reformation
A 16th century religious movement by the theologian Luther to reform the Catholic church, which he saw as greedy and corrupt. He posted his 95th thesis and gained a large enough following to split the church. -
Mar 30, 1531
Predestination Movement
Otherwise known as Calvinism, this was the belief that one was either destined for hell or heaven and that nothing you could do could change your fate. It was spread by John Calvin and this movement was actually the second generation of its kind. -
Puritans
Puritans were a separate sect of the catholic church of hardcore religious faith. They had a spirit of moral and religious earnestness that informed their whole way of life. Their efforts to transform the nation contributed both to civil war in England and to the founding of colonies in America as working models of the Puritan way of life. Their first leader to the Americas was John Winthrop, who wrote City on a Hill. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
In 1629 the Massachusetts Bay Company had obtained a charter from King Charles 1st and was settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritans from England under Gov. John Winthrop. -
Roger Williams and Rhode Island
Roger Williams founded the state of Rhode Island and advocated separation of church and state in Colonial America. His views on religious freedom and tolerance earned him banishment from the Massachusetts Bay colony. -
Pennsylvania and the Quakers
Quakers as they are better known, have always stood apart from the mainstream of American religion. Quakers believed in the inner light. This was the notion that God was a spiritual presence within each individual. One of their leaders was William Penn, resorted to help them escape religious persecution in England and gained Pennsylvania through owed debt from the king. He and his followers sailed there in 1681 and began to colonize their colony. -
Manumission
A christian based practice of owners releasing their slaves because they believed it immoral under the word of God. -
Salem Witch Trials
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony a group of Children said they had seen apparitions and blamed one of the slaves, starting a huge event that ended up in the deaths of 19 people in the end. It was later confessed the trials had little grounds to begin with. -
Enlightenment
A movement where enlightenment thinkers advocated for discovery through science and logical thinking. It started some beliefs as well that a government should work for its people and began distrustful thinking towards England. The church also fought against the enlightenment, believing it created distrust in the church. -
The First Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a spiritual revival of the christian faith in the American colonies. It was characterized by old lights and new lights who believed in conservative church settings and vivid and wild faith sessions in churches respectfully. One prominent speaker was George Whitfield who would travel the nation preaching and was a part of the early Methodist movement. -
Separation of Church and state
To answer to Danbury Baptist Association's anger at the congregationalist fee, Thomas Jefferson declared the first amendment the law separating the church and state, and the government would not control a person's right to religious worship. -
Second Great Awakening
This Second Great Awakening was marked by an emphasis on personal piety and was focused mainly around protestants in the Americas. It also developed the newer denominations, including baptism and Methodist sects. -
Church of the Latter day Saints Established
Created by Joseph Smith, it was a church professing the second coming of Christ. They called themselves Mormons and were eventually persecuted so harshly they migrated with the lead of Brigham Young to Utah. -
Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson, founder and leader of the movement, criticizes Christianity for becoming a projection of personality rather than being a doctrine of the soul.Transcendentalists believed individuals perform at their best when they are independent and rely only on themselves. They believe that society and its institutions debase the purity of the individual. -
Klu Klux Klan
The KKK was founded in Tennessee as a radicalized confederate group that bullied African American voters and fought against reconstruction during its time in the south. -
The Scopes Monkey Trial
A teacher by the name of Scopes attempted to teach evolution in school, but was prosecuted for his actions under the name of God. His defendant brought to light many darning things in court pertaining to the belief on God. It began the long series of scientific theories that would challenge Christianity. -
Alcoholics Anonymous
Founded in Akron, Ohio, this organization was a partly religious group that aimed to help alcoholics relieve themselves of the drug of alcohol that they had become addicted to or dependent on. -
Methodist Church Reunites
The Methodist Episcopal church in the United States reunited after being divided for 109 years as the Methodist Protestant Church and Methodist Episcopal Church. -
Israel Established in the Middle East
The Zionist movement was successful in creating a Jewish state in the Middle east surrounding the sacred site of Jerusalem, sparking a lot of conflict in the Middle East. -
School District of Abington Township v. Schempp
Ellery Schempp protested the daily reading of scripture in his class by reading from the Koran instead of the bible. Schempp would join forces with the American Civil Liberties Union and launch the case that went all the way to the supreme court, where it was found unconstitutional to read scriptures from the bible in a public school setting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act outlawed discrimination in hiring for the workplace according to race, gender, ethnicity, or religion, another stride for keeping church and secular apart from each other. -
Lyng v. Northwest Indian CPA
The supreme court, in a 5-3 decision, allowed a road to be built through sacred Indian lands, since it was constitutionally right, but morally wrong. -
Dodge v. Salvation Army
The Salvation Army discriminated against a pagan, Dodge, for their religion. However the supreme court found that corporations obtaining federal money could not discriminated based on religion. -
9/11
Muslim Extremists hijacked four planes, one going to the pentagon, two into the twin towers, and one which was headed to the capital, but was crashed into a field instead. After this incident, Muslim extremism and caution errupted in the United States, creating the atmosphere around Islam today. -
Catholic Priest Abuse Scandal
An in depth investigation by the Boston Globe brought universal media coverage on the subject that had been going on for more than a century and caused by Catholic priests abusing children. Some cases dated back into the early 1900s, but many more recent cases were prosecuted and it did not put a good light on the Catholic church since they had often tried to cover up what had happened as well.