Why read Sermons? What Americanists can learn from the Sermons of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts

Abstract

This article argues that the anniversary sermons of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) provide an important and underused resource for historians of colonial America. The SPG was a voluntary society devoted to spreading Christianity and strengthening the Church of England in British colonies, especially by providing the American colonies with Anglican clergy and churches. As they articulated the SPG's mission and raised funds for the society's work, the anniversary sermons, which were delivered annually from 1701 onward, also commented on a wide range of issues pertaining to Britain's presence in North America. This paper briefly describes four major areas in which the sermons provide information of particular interest to historians of early America: the New World and the discourse of mission; depictions of American Indians; attitudes to Africans and slavery; and reactions to colonists and the Revolution.