religion – The UncommonWealth

Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections

Reopening the Vestry Records of St. John’s Church

So begins the first entry in the oldest surviving volume from the Henrico Parish vestry records. That entry describes the meeting of six of the…

Guest ContributorSeptember 27, 2023

Newspapers

The Afterlife of a New Age College

Conceived of by financier Morton Blumenthal, inspired by twentieth-century psychic Edgar Cayce, and led by Virginia educator Dr. William Moseley Brown, Atlantic University (AU) officially…

Kelley EwingJuly 26, 2023

Newspapers

“Buckroe Fish Packer Now Devil’s Nemesis”

In September 1935, the Richmond Times-Dispatch grabbed readers' attention with the dramatic headline, "Buckroe Fish Packer Now Devil's Nemesis." The feature provided an early glimpse…

John DealJuly 24, 2023

A Colonial Cover-up: Lunenburg County Records Reveal New Information

Has researcher and author Cynthia Mattson uncovered a sordid, centuries-old murder conspiracy and cover-up? There’s good reason to believe she has. Reverend William Kay was…

Mike BinghamAugust 1, 2018

Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church, Rockbridge County, Va

Jailing the Jerkers

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, sponsored four residential fellows for the 2016-2017 academic year to conduct in-depth research…

Guest ContributorJune 21, 2017

Archives Education & Programming

First Freedom: The Great Sabbath Debate, Part 2

In last week’s blog post, we learned about the efforts of two Richmond businessmen who lobbied to add an exception for non-Christians to Virginia’s Sabbath…

Vince BrooksApril 27, 2016

Archives Conservation

First Freedom: Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom

The official enrolled parchment of 16 January 1786, An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, is one of the most important archival records preserved in the…

Brent TarterApril 13, 2016

Archives Education & Programming

“Let Jews, Mehometans, and Christians of every Denomination Enjoy Religious Liberty”

Religious liberty is a hot button issue during this year’s presidential campaign. Should a religious test be applied for the purpose of denying Muslims entrance…

Greg CrawfordMarch 30, 2016

“I’m not sure that I ought to say all these things…”

Founded in 1928, the original intent of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) was to promote positive relations among Protestants, Catholics, and Jews. Over…

Jessica Tyree BurgessJune 9, 2010