Chapter 20

Religion in Louisiana

By John McInnis

Before the Louisiana Purchase Louisiana was governed by a series of Spanish Governors. Don Estevan Miro was appointed temporary governor in 1784. Miro encouraged Americans to settle in the area now called the Florida parishes. Most of the settlers were protestants. They did not have to become Catholics. In the rest of Louisiana settlers had to pledge allegiance to Spain and practice Catholicism. Governor Miro also spared Louisiana the Inquisition. He forced the Inquisition to leave, and because of his actions there was no Inquisition in Louisiana.

At the time of the Louisiana Purchase Catholicism was the only religion(denomination) legally present in Louisiana. The church grew steadily during the antebellum period. Many Protestant churches became a part of Louisiana as Americans moved in. Baptists and Methodists gained a strong position by 1830. North Louisiana was their main area of involvement. Other denominations like Disciples of Christ and Episcopalian were fewer in number. There were a number of Jewish synagogues as well. By 1860 there were five Jewish synagogues in the state.

Protestant churches were built wherever enough people settled to support them. Churches beacon to play very large social, religious and of course political roles. Slaves usually attended the churches of their owners. Of course they had to sit in segregated areas. There was so much fear of blacks plotting to obtain their freedom that the planters did no risk their gathering together even for religious worship. Women tended to attend church services much more often than men did. The fact that church services were held every day was probably part of the reason. The one book that every family owned was of course the family Bible. Owners usually looked after the spiritual welfare of their slaves. That of course meant the slaves all got to become part of the owners religion which was the "right" one. Slaves were constantly preached to but always by white preachers. Black preachers were not used because it was feared they might organize the slaves for an escape to freedom. The slaves were able to do much in secret but unfortunately their religious culture was slowly drifting away because of their constant exposure to Christianity.

Membership in white churches grew steadily. The small Protestant churches of North Louisiana were community centers for whites. The Catholic church was still dominant in the south though. The Protestant churches had a more varied role in the community than the Catholic churches did. As soon as Negroes were free, they set up Black churches whenever they could. Secret churches that had functioned on the plantations were now able to show themselves in public. Most black churches were Baptist because they had no hierarchy so they were free to develop a church to fit their needs. By the 1890's Louisiana Catholics did not welcome black members so even more became Baptist. In many cases white ministers helped free blacks get their black churches started. Whites were eager to have the freedmen out of white churches. Louisiana became as a result more and more segregated.

The more a place prospered the more diverse its denominations became. Similarly, the more a town prospered, the more likely it was to accept new fashions in church design, as well as in other sectors of culture and periculture. Churches began adding to their buildings. Things such as Sunday school wings, kitchens, and meeting rooms were slowly added to many churches. Only the First Churches were able to survive in downtown sections of towns that did not favor churches(first baptist etc.). The Second Churches generally moved to, or were begun in, the suburbs. The Second Churches were much quicker to add new wings to their churches than the more traditional First Churches.