Editing History of Missouri (section)

===Religion and society in early Missouri===
After the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, state support for the Catholic Church ended, while restrictions on Protestant groups were also eliminated.<ref name="meyer 1982 141">Meyer (1982), 141.</ref> With the removal of financial support, most priests left the territory, and the Catholic parishioners were without a leader from 1804 to 1818.<ref name="meyer 1982 141"/> One institution of Catholic learning, St. Louis Academy (later [[Saint Louis University]]), was established in 1818 as the first college west of the Mississippi River.<ref>[http://www.slu.edu/x5029.xml ''Founded in 1818, SLU was the first university west of the Mississippi River''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217071509/http://www.slu.edu/x5029.xml |date=February 17, 2013 }} date=February 20, 2013.</ref>

After the installation of [[Louis William Valentine Dubourg]] as the Catholic bishop in 1818, however, Catholicism experienced a resurgence in the territory, characterized by the formation in the area of orders of the [[Society of the Sacred Heart]], the [[Congregation of the Mission]], and the [[Society of Jesus]].<ref name="meyer 1982 275">Meyer (1982), 275.</ref> Within months of his arrival, DuBourg had ordered the groundbreaking for a new cathedral in St. Louis, now known as the [[Basilica of St. Louis, King of France]].<ref name="meyer 1982 141"/> DuBourg also encouraged the establishment of schools both for white settlers and for the indigenous peoples, such as the [[Academy of the Sacred Heart, St. Charles|Academy of the Sacred Heart]] in St. Charles, which was established by [[Rose Philippine Duchesne]] in 1818.<ref name="meyer 1982 141"/> DuBourg also played a role in the establishment of several parish churches throughout Missouri.<ref name="meyer 1982 276">Meyer (1982), 276.</ref> DuBourg's successor, [[Joseph Rosati]], continued to champion the expansion of the Catholic church in Missouri; in 1828, the Sisters of Charity opened the first hospital in Missouri (and west of the Mississippi River), while the Sisters of St. Joseph opened the first asylum for the [[deaf and dumb]] at Carondelet in 1838.<ref name="meyer 1982 276"/>

Immigration from Ireland and Germany expanded the reach of the Catholic church as well in the decades after statehood.<ref name="meyer 1982 276"/> During the 1830s, Catholic German communities settled in [[Cole County, Missouri|Cole]], [[Gasconade County, Missouri|Gasconade]], [[Maries County, Missouri|Maries]], and [[Osage County, Missouri|Osage]] counties.<ref name="meyer 1982 276"/>

During the territorial period, Protestant churches expanded rapidly with the lifting of restrictions on their preaching.<ref name="meyer 1982 142">Meyer (1982), 142.</ref> Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist itinerant ministers arrived in waves, holding outdoor services in summers and organizing churches for permanent worship.<ref name="meyer 1982 142"/> Most early Protestant churches were established in rural Missouri: the first Baptist church in the territory was organized in 1805 near Cape Girardeau, the first Methodist church was organized near [[Jackson, Missouri|Jackson]] in 1806; the first Presbyterian church was organized ten miles south of [[Potosi, Missouri|Potosi]] in 1816; and the first Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was organized in [[Howard County, Missouri|Howard County]] in 1817.<ref name="meyer 1982 142"/> The only Protestant church not to place its beginnings in rural Missouri was the Episcopal Church, which organized its first congregation in St. Louis in 1819.<ref name="meyer 1982 142"/>

The early Baptist church in Missouri had its origins in the ministry of [[John Mason Peck]] and James E. Welch, who were sent to the territory by the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions.<ref name="meyer 1982 277">Meyer (1982), 277.</ref> In addition to establishing churches in rural Missouri, they founded the first Sunday school in St. Louis for whites and another for blacks in 1818.<ref name="meyer 1982 277"/> The black Sunday school membership grew quickly and led to the establishment of the first black Baptist church in Missouri in 1827.<ref name="meyer 1982 278">Meyer (1982), 278.</ref> Growth of the Baptist church continued throughout the antebellum period; in 1834, there were 150 established Baptist churches, and by 1860, there were 750.<ref name="meyer 1982 278"/>

Although the first Methodist congregation was established in 1806 near Jackson, it was not until 1819 that a formal chapel was built to house services.<ref name="meyer 1982 278"/> The chapel, known as [[McKendree Chapel]], was named for the first Methodist elder in the territory and is the oldest extant Protestant church in the state.<ref name="meyer 1982 278"/> Much of the Methodist growth can be attributed to their embrace of the camp meeting style of religious services.<ref name="meyer 1982 278"/> In this form, travelers and locals would set up tents surrounding a circular area of outdoor seating; emotional outbursts and passionate preaching characterized the service itself.<ref name="meyer 1982 278"/>

The Presbyterians and Congregationalists worked together in the territory and the state until 1852, establishing churches for both white settlers and indigenous peoples in the western part of the state.<ref name="meyer 1982 279">Meyer (1982), 279.</ref> Neither grew as rapidly as the Methodists and the Baptists, but they nonetheless made contributions to the state in the form of education and cultural life.<ref name="meyer 1982 279"/> The "founder and father of Presbyterianism" in Missouri was [[Salmon Giddings]], who established twelve churches in the state, including the first Protestant church in St. Louis.<ref name="meyer 1982 279"/> The first wholly separate Congregationalist church was established by a former Presbyterian congregation in St. Louis in 1852 under the leadership of T.M. Post.<ref name="meyer 1982 279"/>

Congregations formed at the cusp of and after Missouri statehood included the Episcopal church, which organized in December 1819,<ref name="meyer 1982 279"/> the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], which arrived in 1830,<ref name="meyer 1982 200">Meyer (1982), 200.</ref> Lutherans, who arrived during the 1830s,<ref name="meyer 1982 280">Meyer (1982), 280.</ref> and a Jewish group, which began holding services in 1836.<ref name="meyer 1982 281">Meyer (1982), 281.</ref> The first Episcopal church, which raised funds to build a chapel in 1819, struggled after its rector departed in 1821; not until Thomas Horrel arrived as rector in 1825 did the church begin to expand again.<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/> Under Horrel's leadership, the group built a brick chapel in 1830.<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/> In 1844, the [[Episcopal Diocese of Missouri]] separated from the diocese of Indiana, and [[Cicero Hawks]] became the first bishop of Missouri.<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/> Although Hawks faced several difficulties as leader of the Episcopalians until his death in 1868, an [[Christ Church Cathedral (St. Louis)|Episcopal cathedral in St. Louis]] was built during his tenure.<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/>

Two groups of Lutherans arrived in Missouri during the 1830s, both owing to German immigration of the period.<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/> The first group, which arrived in the mid-1830s, organized themselves as the [[Evangelical Synod of North America]] in 1840 to link several scattered Lutheran congregations.<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/> In 1849 the Synod opened a seminary to supply the group with liberal pastors; [[Eden Seminary]] initially opened in [[Warren County, Missouri|Warren County]] and later moved to [[Webster Groves, Missouri|Webster Groves]].<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/> A [[Saxon Lutheran Immigration 1838-1839|second group of Lutherans]] came to Missouri in 1839; this group, mainly from [[Saxony]], settled in [[Perry County, Missouri|Perry County]] under the leadership of [[Martin Stephan]] and later under [[C. F. W. Walther|Carl Walther]].<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/> Eventually the group formed what is today the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]].<ref name="meyer 1982 280"/>