Lyman Beecher Quotes
… the best thing that ever happened to the state of Connecticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on state support. It threw them wholly on their own resources and on God.
The State of Connecticut voted for disestablishment—no longer supporting an established church. There were many religious people who saw this as a calamity for religion and the churches. Lyman in retrospect had a different view. Father of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher
Lyman Beecher, 1775-1863, Presbyterian Clergyman, Founder, American Bible Society Autobiography
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Some border state clerics were sympathetic with the South during the civil war. The pastor of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, Samuel B. McPheeters, was arrested by the army in December 1862 for expressing views sympathetic to the rebellion from the pulpit. Curtis released the pastor, but prohibited him from preaching in his own church. It took Lincoln many months to find this out and Lincoln then instructed Curtis not to continue the ban.
Backus was the first of the American clerics to espouse the position that in order for there to be a Christian nation, the state must be separate from the Church.
This is one of the earliest expressions of the first regarding freedom of religion. Note that there was concern about the possible government negative effects on religion as well as the other way around. The Continental Congress was very disparate & often inconsistent. Four months after this passed, the Continental Congress voted to have & pay Christian Protestant Chaplains for the army despite a critical shortage of funds. Further they ordered Washington to require the troops to attend Christian religious services which the General did. After this statement, many Protestant clergy objected. Congress actually depended on the clergy to communicate with the public & prepared many open letters which the asked the clergy to read from the pulpit—especially ones recruiting troops. With the Revolution going badly, the Congress & Washington did not want a dispute with the clergy many of whom were already being pressured against the revolution by their religious superiors in England.
This book is endorsed by major religious organizations of all faiths as well as National School Boards Association, National Education Association, National PTA, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Elementary School Principals, American Association of School Administrators and others. It is used as a guideline by most schools systems in the United States.
Lyman Beecher was a Presbyterian minister, American Temperance Society co-founder and leader, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Catharine Beecher, and Thomas K. Beecher.
