The Church of England was firmly established in South Carolina from the very beginning starting with the era when the colony was ruled by the proprietary government. The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669) announced that the Church of England was the “only true and orthodox and . . . national religion . . . of Carolina.” This applied to both North and South Carolina as they did not split up until the early 18th Century. Additionally, the parliament had the duty of maintaining the church with funds and building the church in the colony. The Church of England remained established in South Carolina until the Constitution of 1778 which replaced Anglicanism with Christianity as the officially recognized religion. Finally in 1790, the state no longer officially endorsed a specific religion and declared that “the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever hereafter be allowed within this state to all mankind.” Although this Constitutional provision came with a few caveats (religion could not be used as an excuse for licentiousness or for disrupting the peace and safety of the state), it officially marked the end of the established church in South Carolina.

The fall of the established church in South Carolina, like in most other states/colonies, could very well be attributed to the rise of enlightenment thinking and a trend toward religious tolerance. Although this may very well have been a factor, another key driving force behind this trend toward disestablishmentarianism was economic in nature. South Carolina in the 17th and 18th Centuries was still a fairly wild and developing place. A populous divided on religious lines is not the best way to ensure economic prosperity, especially when the situation is exacerbated by the fact that the state is using one man’s tax dollars to subsidize another man’s religion. Consequently over the course of the 18th Century, there have been several pushes in the general direction of disestablishment and unity, not because religious freedom was a fundamental right and ideal in itself, but because it was a pragmatic way of ensuring that there would be sustained economic development.

1704 Act Requiring Assembly Members to Conform to the Church of England

On May 6th 1704, an “Act for the more effectual Preservation of the Government” was ratified in Open Assembly in the Province of Carolina. The Act cites religious differences in the Assembly as the cause of animosities, contentions, and obstructions of public business. For this reason, the Act required that all members of the Common House of Assembly be followers of the Church of England and regularly partake of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Not only must a member prove that he is a regularly communing member of the Church of England, but he must take an Oath swearing to work toward the good and welfare of the Church.

Even from the beginning, the Act received critical treatment from some. The Act was called absurd, specious, and ridiculous. The main worries seemed to be economic in nature. It was argued that the Act would create obstructions to public business (“Whether the hardships it would put upon more than two thirds of the People of Carolina, would not certainly cause greater Animosities and Obstructions to Public Business”). Other fears included: a) that other colonies might retaliate with similar Acts (“it might . . . prompt and animate ill designing men by such like Methods to procure somewhat of the same nature in our Foreign Plantations”); b) that such an act would drive away many and discourage settlement (“such a treatment of Protestant Dissenters . . . would drive away many and keep back more from adventuring to transport themselves [to Carolina]”); and c) negatively affect trade in the colony (“hinder the exportation of many English Manufactures, prove a great Discouragement to trade and lessening of Her Majesty’s Customs”).

The primary concerns had little to do with citizen’s rights being violated and more to do with the practical effects the Act would cause to the colony as a whole. The colony needed people to populate its lands and cultivate the area so as to increase trade. If this Act drove out people and discouraged new settlers from entering South Carolina, the colony would suffer. They realized, for the purposes of developing the land and being a trading partner, it did not matter whether the person was a dissenter (i.e. dissenter from the Anglican church) or a member of the Church of England. They were in wild, rugged, sparsely populated, North America and they did not want legislation that would make the area even more devoid of people. Additionally, they realized that such an Act would just exacerbate tensions between dissenters and Anglicans. The animosity created would hinder trade and Anglican interests in other colonies might be threatened if similar Acts against the Anglicans were passed in retaliation. Luckily, this law did not stay on the books for very long as Queen Anne repealed it within a few years of its passage in the Assembly of South Carolina.

Encouraging French Protestant Settlers

In 1761, an Act was passed which was intended to encourage foreign Protestants (non-Anglicans) to settle in South Carolina. Although, Anglicanism was still the established church in South Carolina, the colony wanted as many settlers as it could get, even if they were non-Anglicans. By explicitly endorsing policies that benefited non-Anglicans and spending money to encourage their settlement, the colony was putting their economic interest ahead of their desire to preserve the Church of England as the established church.

Letters arranging the logistics of certain settlement agreements cite various economic benefits surrounding additional settlers. One letter that related to potential settlers from the South of France stated that “their knowledge in the culture of silk and vines, it is hoped they may be particularly useful to the Colonies and to the Public.” Another letter cites the reason for the encouraged settlement of French Protestants as a “method of peopling the new governments with useful and industrious inhabitants.” The Assembly of South Carolina was even willing to spend £ 500 sterling in establishing the French Protestant settlement in order to “make them useful to the Colony.” A useful populous which will cultivate and develop the land and economy is more important than ensuring an Anglican population.

Encouraging Protestants to Unite for Safety against the Blacks and Indians

p. 102 of Collections of Historical Work and Woodmason’s sermon

A Speech Arguing for Disestablishment in the South Carolina Assembly

William Tennant’s Speech

Conclusion

I have attached some potential sources.

-- JosephForderer - 18 Nov 2009

• 1704_Act_regarding_Oaths_of_office.docx: This is a 1704 Act regarding required Oaths of Office followed by a critique of the Act.

• Church_Act_1706_1708.pdf: This is the Church Act of 1706 which essentially establishes the Anglican Church in the Province.

• William_Tennents_Speech_before_the_Assembly.docx: A Speech before the Assembly arguing for disestablishment

• SC_Constitution_of_1788.pdf: Constitution changing the established church from Anglican to Christian (see Art. XXXVII)

• Documents_relating_to_the_French_Protestants_in_1760s.pdf: S.C. Urges the settlement of French Protestants

• Woodmason_Sermon_urging_Unity.pdf: Sermon urging unity among Protestants

• State_Convention_on_Adoption_of_the_Federal_Constitution.pdf: Some hesitancy is asserted over the Federal Constitution's "too great latitude allowed in religion"

• S.C._Constitution_of_1790.pdf: Complete Dissestablishment with the Constitution of 1790. See Article VIII

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-colonial/1657 The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669). See section 96.