The role of religion in America during the Civil War was multifaceted. On the one hand, you had the division of churches into Old and New Schools. While on the other hand, churches, both North and South, maintained that God was on their sides. The following exploration is a comparison of two sermons, both proclaiming to be sermons preached on a day of thanksgiving and prayer, yet two completely different sermons.  

            The first sermon comes from Maximilian J. Michelbacher, a Jewish priest of prominence living in Confederate-held Richmond, VA.  Michelbacher immigrated from Bavaria in 1844 and arrived in Richmond in 1846. His congregation at Beth Ahabah was of the Ashkenazic form of worship. Michelbacher loved education and learning, and thus he and his congregational built the first Jewish school in Richmond. It was eventually closed so that the city could use its facilities for the formation of the Richmond Public School System. Michelbacher was their first rabbi and remained with them until he died in 1879.[1]

            His sermon entitled A Sermon Delivered on the Day of Prayer: Recommended by the President of the C.S. of A., the 27th of March, 1863, at the German Hebrew synagogue, “Bayth Ahabah,” is an exhortation to remain faithful. He praised the young men of the Jewish faith for their loyalty to their country, proclaiming that they did not have to be conscripted. The men knew their duty to their country, and therefore they honored that duty. His sermon urges the Confederacy to be vigilant and not fall into the trap of false words of the Union. His text comes from Nehemiah 4:14, in which he uses it to urge them to fight for their homes, their wives, their sons, and their daughters.  One of the passages in his sermon that stands out reads,

            Ah, my God, let us not put from us our confidence in Thee, nor forget the wonderful manifestations of Thy power in our behalf within the last twelve months! Thou only art our Savior and Redeemer, and Thou hast graciously assisted us in building the high wall of separation; and, even now, Thou dost call upon the people of the South in the words Thou gavest to Nehemiah: “Fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses!”[2]

Additionally, Michelbacher is urging, pleading with the merchant class people not to become speculators or extortionists, as some in the Confederacy have done. It is their responsibility to look after the needs of the widowed and the young. In closing, he calls the people to prayer. Prayer for the Confederacy to remain faithful to the will of God. Prayer that God will continue to bless their endeavors.

            In stark contrast to this comes a sermon from Phineas Densmore Gurley. Gurley was the Chaplain for the U.S. Senate in addition to being the pastor at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.[3] Among Gurley’s congregation was Abraham Lincoln. Though Lincoln did not formally join the church, he did have a reserved pew.  Gurley is said to have remained by Mary Todd Lincoln’s side in the days after Lincoln’s death. Furthermore, Gurley preached both the White House funeral and the Springfield, Ill. service.[4]

            Gurley’s sermon entitled Man’s Projects and God’s Results: A Sermon: Preached by the Rev. P.D. Gurley … on Thursday, August 6, 1863, Being the Day of National Thanksgiving, Praise and Prayer, is by all accounts a completely different type of sermon. Gurley on the other hand, takes his text from Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Utilizing such examples of the Tower of Babel, Joseph and his brothers, and the crucifixion of Christ on the cross, he reminds them that what they conceive to do, whether right or wrong, God, in turn, uses it for His purpose. His sermon is a message of hope, as reflected in the following passage:

This is the great truth which we have deemed it appropriate to set before you to day; because it is in the view of this truth, and under its influence, that we are led to believe and to say with confidence: There is hope for our bleeding country. He who confounded the language and defeated the ambitious designs of the builders of Babel, can confound the counsels and defeat the designs of those who would divide and thereby ruin this nation. He, who provided sustenance and redemption for His people by the sale of Joseph into Egypt, can provide deliverance for us by methods equally mysterious and yet equally effective. He, who made the crucifixion of Jesus by wicked hands the most glorious event in the annals of the universe, can turn the dark night of our national adversity into a morning of gladness and a day of splendor such as neither this nor any other nation has ever seen before….. He, who is overruling slavery for the good of Africa, can overrule the infatuation both of the enemies and friends of slavery for the purification of the country by blood and its consequent rescue from ruin. We must not be faithless, but believing.[5]

As we can see from the examples presented in this blog, the role of religion in the Civil War allowed both sides to believe that they were the ones in the right. They believed that God was on their side and would ensure a victorious outcome. In the end, we know that the Union won the war and the United States preserved.  The Jewish Rabbi Michelbacher urged the people of the Confederacy to continue to fight for the protection of their homes and families. At the same time, President Lincoln’s minister reminded the people of the Union that what man planned, God would use for His purpose.

For further reading, please consider the following:

Gurley, Phineas Densmore. Man’s Projects and God’s Results: A Sermon: Preached by the Rev. P.D. Gurley … on Thursday, August 6, 1863, Being the Day of National Thanksgiving, Praise and Prayer. Washington, D.C.: W. Ballantyne, 1863. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed September 7, 2020). https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/CY0106389814/SABN?u=vic_liberty&sid=SABN&xid=1fb07b5f.

The Lincoln Institute. “Phineas D. Gurley.” Mr. Lincoln and Friends. The Lehrman Institute, February 2003. http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/the-preachers/phineas-gurley/.

Michelbacher, Maximilian J. A Sermon Delivered on the day of Prayer: Recommended by the President of the C.S. of A., the 27th of March, 1863, at the German Hebrew Synagogue, “Bayth Ahabah.” Macfarlane & Fergusson, 1863. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/CY0100672023/SABN?u=vic_liberty&sid=SABN&xid=e0deb421. Accessed 7 Sept. 2020.

National Park Services. “Phineas Gurley (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, June 15, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/people/phineas-gurley.htm.

Wren, Linda Held, Claire Millhiser Rosenbaum, and Chuck Savage. “History.” Congregation Beth Ahaba. Congregation Beth Ahabah. Accessed September 12, 2020. https://www.bethahabah.org/heritage/history/.

[1]  Linda Held Wren, Claire Millhiser Rosenbaum, and Chuck Savage, “History,” Congregation Beth Ahabah (Congregation Beth Ahabah, unknown published date), accessed September 12, 2020, https://www.bethahabah.org/heritage/history/.

[2]  Maximilian J. Michelbacher, A Sermon Delivered on the Day of Prayer: Recommended by the President of the C.S. of A., the 27th of March, 1863, at the German Hebrew Synagogue, “Bayth Ahabah”. Macfarlane & Fergusson, 1863. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926. 9.

[3]  National Park Services, “Phineas Gurley (U.S. National Park Service),” National Parks Service (U.S. Department of the Interior, June 15, 2015), https://www.nps.gov/people/phineas-gurley.htm.

[4] The Lincoln Institute, “Phineas D. Gurley,” Mr. Lincoln and Friends (The Lehrman Institute, February 2003), http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/the-preachers/phineas-gurley/.

[5] Phineas Densmore Gurley, Man’s Projects and God’s Results: A Sermon: Preached by the Rev. P.D. Gurley … on Thursday, August 6, 1863, Being the Day of National Thanksgiving, Praise and Prayer, Washington, D.C.: W. Ballantyne, 1863. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926, 14-16.