The Impact of Religion on the Development of the American Economy.

Student X

Professor X

Course

21 July 2007

The Impact of Religion on the U .S . Economy

There is no doubt that religion played an important role in the establishment of a nation now known as the United States of America This assertion is based on the fact that the founding fathers of the said country were deeply religious and that it is a well-known fact that they based their actions and decisions on their religious convictions Moreover , 21st century Americans still display characteristics and behavior patterns that would

make outsiders conclude without a doubt that the United States indeed is a nation under God

This will attempt to trace how religion became a major influence in the development of the U .S . economy . This would require going back to the time when America was still in its infancy and when many nations tried to claim parts of the continent as their own . The period between the years 1607 up to 2001 will be studied to find out how religion indeed transformed the economic landscape of the United States of America

But before going further and begin the historical survey it is imperative to ascertain boundaries and try to limit the scope of a very broad . It must be established that the term religion that will be mentioned throughout this study will refer to Christianity . And even if the survey begins in the early part of the 17th century it must be made clear that the impact on the economy will be limited to the time when the U .S . was already made independent from the British Empire . This will make it easier to analyze if it was indeed the Christian religion that contributed much to the transformation of the United States and not its former benefactor , the country it used to call as the mother country England

In the Beginning

The Americas of which the present United States of America finds its home was once a continent that was shared by many nations . The Native Americans were of course the first group of people who claimed ownership of part of the great continent . The others who love to have their fair share of the huge land area are citizens of far away nations like France , Spain , and England . There are other countries that for centuries had come to find fortune and fame in the Americas . According to Kieran Doherty the English and the Dutch were not the first European settlers in the colonies . It was the Spaniards who successfully established the first settlement in New York and Florida in the mid-sixteenth century But in later times it was the Englishmen who prevailed and made their mark in the new colony . In fact , . by 1607 the English had established a permanent presence in the New World at Jamestown in Virginia

The English came in search of glory and gold . But many of them came for another reason - to experience a greater degree of freedom to practice what...