The Use of the Voluntary System in the Maintenance of Ministers in the Colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay During the Earlier Years of Their Existence (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Inhaltsangabe

Historical study of how ministers were funded in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay This volume examines the voluntary system used to maintain ministers in the early colonies, comparing it with tax-based approaches and tracing its rise and decline. It compiles statements from early writers and colonial records to illuminate motives, methods, and outcomes.

The work centers on the practice in two neighboring colonies and shows how beliefs about church and community shaped funding. It also situates the subject in a broader historical debate about whether ministerial support should be voluntary or mandated by law.

• How voluntary contributions supported ministers in Boston, Plymouth, and other towns.


• Shifts from voluntary giving to taxation and the debates that followed.


• Influences from English reformers, Puritan leaders, and colonial leaders on funding methods.


• Primary-source references, agreements, and town records that illustrate early church finance.

Ideal for readers of colonial American history, religious history, and early American politics.

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