The Capacious Sacrament Of Necessity: Community Formation In Early American Baptismal Networks

This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception will begin at 4:30 pm.

Please visit here to register.

New York and Pennsylvania before the American Revolution were some of the most ethnically and religiously diverse colonies in North America, and baptismal witnessing tied together these diverse groups.  Baptismal ties both created and reflected long lasting social ties: parents selected neighbors, business partners, and extended family as godparents, who were then expected to socially and financially support the baptized child up to adulthood. Digital social network analysis of these connections shows that in the decades surrounding the American Revolution, women grew in prominence as essential connectors within otherwise ethnically fractured congregations, suggesting the increasing social role of women in the creation of American national identity.