Puritanism
And The Religious Test Oath
In Colonial America

At least half the American colonies followed the model of Puritanism in requiring their civil officers to swear a religious test oath. The intent was to ensure their official adherence to Christianity and/or the Bible during their tenure in office.

By this means early America entered into Covenant with the God of the Bible. And for this reason America can be described as a Christian nation. This is the legacy of Puritanism.

Jesus told the leaders of the Jewish nation in no uncertain terms, "The kingdom of God is taken away from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits thereof" (Mt. 21:43).

What was the religious test oath? How did it manifest itself in the several colonial constitutions?

This was not a cookie cutter formula; it varied from state to state but expressed essentially the same idea. For example, one state required the candidate to swear that he was a member in good standing of a Christian church. Another that he believed in the Word of God as contained in the Old and New Testaments. And so forth. Puritanism was the model.

The Religious Test In Massachusetts

Take the state of Massachusetts established by Puritans fleeing to the New World under the leadership of John Winthrop in 1630. Massachusetts was the seedbed of Puritanism in the Americas.

1) The Preamble to the 1780 Constitution of Massachusetts entered explicitly into covenant with the God of the Bible: “We, therefore, the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the goodness of the great Legislator of the universe…and devoutly imploring His direction in so interesting a design, do agree upon, ordain, and establish the following declaration of rights and frame of government….”

2) In the same document, elected officials were required to swear allegiance to the Christian God with these words: “I, A.B., do declare that I believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth….”

The document also contained the following statement: “no person shall be eligible to this office, unless…he shall declare himself to be of the Christian religion.”

3) And from the very beginning, the Massachusetts Body of Liberties had tied the laws of the commonwealth to the Law of Moses, chapter and verse. For example, the statute dealing with murder specifies “If any person shall slay another through guile, either by poisoning or other such devilish practice, he shall be put to death. Ex. 21:14.” The statute cites a reference to Exodus 21:14, which states “…if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.”

In stark contrast, the United States Constitution of 1787 nullifies or ignores each of those three biblical imperatives.

1) “We the people of the United States…do ordain and establish thisConstitution…” Note how the governing authority of the people has replaced the authority of God; there is no substantive mention of the Christian God in the entire document.

2) “No religious test shall ever be required for any office or public trust underthese United States…” Note the emphatic exclusion of any requirement that a public official swear to govern according to the Bible.

3) “This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof….shall be the supreme law of the land….” Note theconspicuous absence of any reference to the higher law of God.

The Religious Test In Other Colonies

Here are some examples of the religious test oath in other colonies. These followed the lead of Puritanism in the original Massachusetts settlement.

Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust…shall…also make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit:

“I do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.” (Delaware)

“The representatives shall be chosen out of the residents in each county…and they shall be of the Protestant religion.” (Georgia, 1777, Article VI)

“No person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the protestant religion, or the divine authority of the old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.” (North Carolina, 1776)

“also profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world” and take the following oath: “I profess faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ his eternal son, the true God, and in the Holy Spirit, one God blessed for evermore; and do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and Newe Testament to be given by divine inspiration.” (705-06 act of the Pennsylvania legislature.)

“I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, the Rewarder of the good and the Punisher of the wicked; and I acknowledge the Scriptuers of the Old and New Testaments to be given by Divine inspiration.” (Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776)

As noted elsewhere on this website, Virginia under the leadership of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were among the first to abandon the religious test oath in 1786. A year later (1787) Madison led the entire nation to reject the heritage of Puritanism by outlawing any religious test in the U.S. Constitution.