Abstract
Jasper Adams was an influential voice in religion and politics in the early years of the United States. His opposition to religious liberty was clearly articulated in his sermon “The relation of Christianity to civil government in the United States.” His presentation embraced a theocratic society which was clearly Protestant in its theology and Eurocentric. His misuse of scripture to justify black chattel slavery and religious overreach serve as reminders on the need to preserve religious liberty.
Jasper Adams’ offers a theocratic worldview in his 1833 sermon at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church “The relation of Christianity to civil government in the United States.” Adams, an apparent relative of the second president, begins his argument with verses of scripture, key among them Revelation 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (para, English Standard Version ESV). He launches into the nature of Christianity with a few lines before describing the form of government enjoyed by the ancient Israelites in the wilderness. He goes on to plot a course of Christian rule in the western world which seemed to have reached a peak with the Byzantine Empire, faced decline, to be resurrected in Europe. With his verse from Revelation, which heralds Christ’s reign upon His triumphant return to govern the world’s affairs, taken out of context to be applied to the present, Adams goes on to defend his argument with examples of how Northern European Protestantism (an important distinction here) has been the key to the founding of the United States. Formerly, a northern Presbyterian, Adams, and many others like him, found a place for dissension against the “establishment” in South Carolina. From his vantage point as a leader at South Carolina College and the College of Charleston, Jasper Adams, used his position to good effect, affirming a “powerful vision of state and religious activity, and a vigorous conservatism that affirmed slavery.”[1]
His argument appears to run counter to James Madison’s claims for religious liberty, pursuing a hardline stance on government that legislated by Christian approbation – where it mattered most for slaveowners in South Carolina and throughout the south. Smith describes that vision sought total submission to the state, and for slaves, total submission to masters with little, if any regard, for their own treatment. Adams allowed no place for diversity in a nation that was already varied in areas of ethnicity, culture, and religion. His ideas were clearly based on his belief in superiority: of his own style of faith above all others as well as his belief that black slavery was ordained by God. We see this for what it is, and I confess that the sermon was not read in its entirety. It may be worth another look.
Bibliography
Adams, Jasper, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, and Episcopal Church. Diocese of South Carolina. Convention Charleston, S.C. The relation of Christianity to civil government in the United States : a sermon preached in St. Michael’s Church, Charleston, February 13th, 1833, before the convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of South-Carolina:. Charleston [S.C.]: Printed by A.E. Miller, 1833. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed July 18, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CY0102787302/SABN?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-SABN&xid=56b30359&pg=2.
Smith, Miles. ““The Necessary Result of Piety”: Slavery and Religious Establishments in South Carolina Presbyterianism, 1800–1840.” Religions (Basel, Switzerland ) 8, no. 9 (2017): 180. http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fnecessary-result-piety-slavery-religious%2Fdocview%2F1951983807%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085.
[1] Miles Smith, 2017, ““The Necessary Result of Piety”: Slavery and Religious Establishments in South Carolina Presbyterianism, 1800–1840.” Religions 8 (9): 15.
Todd Elliott, Writer 