Edward L. Bond. Damned Souls in a Tobacco Colony: Religion in Seventeenth-Century Virginia.
Macon, Ga: Mercer University Press, 2000. xi + 330pp. $35.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-86554-708-7.
Reviewed by Scott M. Langston (Department of Biblical Studies, Southwest Baptist University,
Bolivar, MO)
Published on H-South (September, 2001)
The Economic and Political Elements of Religious Identity
The Economic and Political Elements of Religious
Identity
of attaining eternal salvation (p. viii). This understanding made the institutional church a means to an end,
rather than an end in itself. It also contributed to the
Edward L. Bond has made an important contribution construction of a broad understanding of the English as
to the study of both southern and colonial religion. The God’s friends. Those in England who favored colonizaimportance of his book arises from its treatment of a tion, therefore, contended that God desired England to
relatively neglected time period in the study of south- colonize North America. In order to cooperate with God,
ern religion. Seventeenth-century southern religion has
Virginia’s colonial leaders sought to design a polity that
not received the same consideration by scholars as has
would please him and simultaneously establish an Enthat of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Admit- glish presence in North America.
tedly, the latter two centuries have produced more source
material for scholars to explore. Bond, however, has
Suggestions regarding how this might be accomdemonstrated the rich potential of the seventeenth cen- plished highlighted belief and behavior as important factury. Furthermore, while seventeenth-century religion tors. One faction argued for a shared faith, while a second
among the northern colonies has garnered tremendous contended for a shared behavior as the organizing princiattention, the same topic among southern colonies needs ple for Virginia’s polity. Unifying the population through
much more work.
a shared belief would be difficult, but a common behavioral norm proved more promising. Contrary to the tradiBond, therefore, has helped fill in some of the chrono- tional European model that bound belief systems to state
logical and regional gaps in the field of American reli- identity, Virginia’s leaders based their polity on behavgion. In doing so, he constructs a picture of Virginians ior as expressed in the Lawes Divine, Morall, and Marwho undoubtedly understood themselves as English cittiall. True Virginians, therefore, valued labor, worship,
izens, but who almost immediately began to carve out
and Christian morality more than Christian doctrine.
a religious identity distinct from their mother country.
Not only did Virginians create a polity foundationThe intertwining of religion with the economic and political structures of the colony furthered the creation and ally different from that in England, but the geography of
transformation of English citizens living in Virginia into North America, as well as the colony’s economy, played
important roles in shaping Virginia’s religious identity.
Virginians.
Contrary to English settlement patterns centered in comEmphasizing religion as “a relationship with the dipact urban areas, colonists spread out by obtaining readvine,” Bond describes the seventeenth-century Chrisily available land in order to raise tobacco. This further
tian’s goal as relating to a personal deity with the hopes
1
H-Net Reviews
weakened the influence of the institutional church because people often would have to travel great distances to
attend services. The shortage of clergy also contributed
to the church’s weakness. All of these factors, as well as
the threat posed by Native Americans and their culture,
combined to make the theological controversies raging
in Europe during the mid-1600s of little interest to most
Virginians.
strates how the mingling of the religious, political, and
economic spheres impacted Virginians’ expression of religion. This line of analysis could have been pursued
even further by noting how the non-religious factors influenced the biblical interpretations of Virginians. At the
same time, it challenges students and teachers of religion,
colonial America, political and economic history, or biblical studies to consider such issues from a broader perspective than that of their particular disciplines.
Instead, they developed what Bond has termed an infant religious toleration; it was not complete religious toleration or freedom, but a small move towards it. This
polity minimized religious strife by making faith primarily a private matter. Common economic interests (primarily the cultivation and marketing of tobacco) united
the colony and lessened the potential threat of religious
disagreements. By the end of the century, Virginians
distinguished between people who were Christians and
those who were not, rather than between those who professed true or false doctrine. Christian behavior and economic concerns, therefore, became more important than
Christian belief.
The book carries the subtitle, Religion in SeventeenthCentury Virginia. A more apt description might be Christianity or Anglicanism in seventeenth-century Virginia.
While Bond addresses native culture, as well as evangelicals, non-conformists, and Africans, the book is a thorough study of Anglicanism. This is understandable since
the Anglican Church was the established church in Virginia. A study of the religious environment in Virginia,
however, would warrant a more detailed analysis of these
other groups. Such groups are described from the Anglican perspective, but viewing the religious situation from
their viewpoint would provide a more comprehensive
picture.
Many issues raised in the book warrant further consideration. Bond’s contention that economic interests
proved more important in unifying the colony than religion raises a question regarding the role and nature of
religion in the personal and public lives of Virginians.
Crassly stated, were Virginians wanting to please God
out of a sense of devotion to him or did they attempt
to use (manipulate) God in order to achieve their objectives? Discussing the union of Puritan and Anglican Virginians against Charles I’s efforts to prevent Virginia’s
trade with his Roundhead and Cavalier enemies, Bond
noted, “Virginians were happy to avoid divisive religious
questions and trade their tobacco with anyone willing
to offer payment. Domestic tranquility made good business sense” (p. 176). Religious toleration, therefore, apparently reflected more a desire for economic prosperity
than a wish to serve God according to personal preference. This implication calls for more investigation.
Bond makes a convincing case for the creation by Virginians of a different identity from that found in England.
To fully appreciate this facet of Virginia, some comparison to other seventeenth-century British colonies could
have been made. Bond comes closest to this when discussing the religious turmoil of the trans-Atlantic world
during the period encompassing the 1630s through the
1660s. This, however, does not address the forging of religious identity. One wonders if other colonies developed
religious identities markedly different from that of their
mother country and, if so, how did these processes compare and contrast with Virginia’s?
Despite these few suggestions, Edward L. Bond has
written a helpful book that not only furthers the understanding of religious life in seventeenth-century Virginia, but also generates questions for further research
and discussion (certainly one mark of a book’s value).
Virginians also used their religious identity to order The book sits firmly on the foundation of extensive retheir relationships with Native Americans and African search in primary documents and interaction with secslaves. While colonists as a whole probably served God ondary resources. Students and teachers of religion, colofor their own benefit, as well as that of the divine, this nial America, and biblical studies will find it useful and
state of affairs highlights the complexity of understand- stimulating.
ing religion in its public and private roles. Bond demonIf there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at:
https://networks.h-net.org/h-south
2
H-Net Reviews
Citation: Scott M. Langston. Review of Bond, Edward L., Damned Souls in a Tobacco Colony: Religion in SeventeenthCentury Virginia. H-South, H-Net Reviews. September, 2001.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=5465
Copyright © 2001 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for
nonprofit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication,
originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews
editorial staff at [email protected].
3