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TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 219 Print image (83K) |
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TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 219 Print image (83K) |
| Religious Diversity There was much religious diversity in Maryland. Between 1634 and 1639 most of the settlers belonged to Anglican and Roman Catholic faiths. Puritans came by way of Virginia in 1649. The Scotch-Irish were predominantly Presbyterians. Members of the Society of Friends or Quakers found asylum in the Baltimore colony. Maryland provided religious freedom for many religious groups. The Calverts originally founded Maryland to give Catholics a safe place to settle. George Calvert was a Catholic but was not able to worship as a Catholic in England. Many other groups came to Maryland for religious freedom including Puritans, Quakers, and Protestant groups. Presbyterians, Methodists, and Quakers settled on the Eastern Shore, Catholics lived in southern Maryland and Puritans and Baptists settled around Annapolis. Lutherans who came from Germany settled in Frederick county. Few Jewish people lived in Maryland during the early years and those who did lived near Baltimore. The Act of Toleration, passed in 1649, gave all Christians freedom to worship. In the 1700's, some of the religious freedoms of Catholics were taken away. They could not have public church services. They also had to pay double taxes and could not vote. A state law was passed that said religious leaders could not hold public office. Founding of Churches by African Americans The principal organized moral force in Maryland was the established Anglican Church. Its membership was confined to no particular social class but was controlled by land-holding slave owners. From one parish it was reported that the masters were "so brutish" that they would not allow their African-Americans to be catechized or baptized. On the other hand, some masters gave personal attention to the spiritual concerns of their slaves. They were willing to allow the clergy to teach the slaves, although they often regarded it as a fruitless task. Methodism arrived in Maryland about 1784, but African American and white worshippers were segregated. The free African Americans chose to worship in their homes, and 1797 invited Rev. Daniel Coker to be the first pastor of what later became Bethel A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Church. (Bethel has since become the mother A.M.E. church of Maryland and plays an important role in denominational affairs. In an attempt to halt the inclination of African American Methodist to join the A.M.E. organization, the Methodist church of Maryland inaugurated the Sharp Street Methodist Church as a mission project for African-Americans. Sharp Street was organized in 1802 and was headed by white ministers for many years. (The church grew in power and influence and is regarded today as one of the strongest Methodist congregations in Maryland.) Establishing an African-American Baptist church in Maryland was a little more difficult because each Baptist congregation is independent of a managing organization and Maryland law once required a white man to be present at all meetings. SS-69 |