“....clarify what is meant by “Protestant religious foundation vs Christianity...”
Not just protestant, but a very particular flavor. Hard scrabble hard core backwoods hillbilly flavor.
“A Hessian captain, fighting on behalf of the British, told a friend in Germany in 1778, “call this war, dearest friend, by whatsoever name you may, only call it not an American Revolution, it is nothing more nor less than an Irish-Scotch Presbyterian Rebellion.”
40%+/- of Washington’s duration troops were first or second generation Ulster Scots as were the Over the Mountain Men in Carolinas as well.
Read more in The Journal of the American Revolution.
http://allthingsliberty.com/2013/09/presbyterian-rebellion/
Google American Revolution and Presbyterianism for the full effect of the Scottish Reformation (John Knox)and Scots Age of Enlightenment (Adam Smith for example) on America’s founding and intended character.
I think the “Presbyterian rebellion” notion can only be maintained if one uses the term quite loosely, lumping in Congregationalists, which the Brits and Loyalists of the time probably did.
New Englanders were almost all Congregationalists, not Presbyterians proper. The South was dominated by C of E, which in some colonies was the Established Church.
Presbyterians were primarily Scots or Scotch-Irish and were mostly found on the frontier or in the Middle Colonies, especially PA.
I’d be interested if you have a reference for the 40% number. Sounds high to me.
Ran across an interesting site for religion of the 208 men it classifies as Founders. 55% were Episcopal/C of E. Presbyterians were at 19% and Congregationalists at 17%. Big dropoff thereafter.
http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html
I don’t think the Presbyterians can accurately be claimed as dominant in the Revolution, despite what its opponents may have said at the time.