Church vs State (1998)

Church vs State brings students to a time in America when church and state were often allied. Though many came to America for religious freedom, in some places there was little tolerance for anything but the dominant belief. While those beliefs might vary from colony to colony, the effect was often a state of religion. That began to change with the dissenter's movement in the 1740's. The dissenters challenged the established Church of England and ultimately transformed American ideas about religious toleration. Students will meet Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson and learn the roles each played in the debate over religious freedom, a debate that ultimately resulted in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.