Religious Freedom Walk Preview

Welcome to the Religious Freedom Walk!

There are multiple ways to experience this tour pathway. Some may wish to experience the tour entirely within the app. Others may want to travel to all or some of the sites physically. Walking to all of the sites, starting at Glori Dei Old Swedes Church and ending at the National Constitution Center, is approximately 4 miles. Depending on walking speed and time spent at each site, it could take between 2 and 3 hours.

There is a lot of information available for this walk! In the interest of time, you may wish to read only the Overview and "STORY" sections before proceeding to the next site. You can always return to the app later to explore further.

To get an overview of the walk's geography, click on the map icon below. A full list of sites can be viewed by clicking on the bullet point list icon at the top right of your screen. To get started, swipe left or click on the next button in the lower right-hand corner!

Before embarking on the walk, you may wish to learn some background on Pennsylvania's founder and the city he founded as a "Holy Experiment." If you wish to proceed to the first stop, swipe left or click next at the bottom of your screen.

William Penn (1644-1718) was an English Quaker leader and the founder of the American colony of Pennsylvania. Penn's legacy is marked by his contributions to the principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and the development of representative government. Pennsylvania's founding principles and the values of its founder significantly influenced the early history of the United States and its commitment to religious and individual freedoms.

How did Penn’s Colony Come About?

William was born in London, the son of a naval admiral with the same name. He was baptized into the state-established Church of England, but later in life, joined the Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers. The Quakers were known for their pacifism, egalitarian values, and belief that every individual had direct access to God without the mediation of clergy.

King Charles II owed Penn’s father a significant sum for his naval service in the Caribbean. When Admiral Penn died, the king faced a dilemma. The debt was owed to the young William Penn, but the king was reluctant to transfer money to a member of a subversive religious movement. As an alternative, the king paid off the debt by granting Penn a tract of land in North America. In the eyes of King Charles, this settlement could serve as a buffer zone for other colonies to resist French and Spanish colonial intrusions. It was named Pennsylvania or “Penn’s Woods,” referencing Penn’s father.

When Penn arrived in 1682, small settlements of Swedes and Dutch already occupied parts of the region, along with the Lenape people, who had resided there for thousands of years. Penn also worked with surveyor Thomas Holme to lay out a street design that would encourage the growth of a “green country town” with ample space between buildings to prevent the spread of fire and disease and the proliferation of immorality. Penn was a witness to and survivor of the Great Fire of London in 1666. The original street grid extended from the Delaware River on the east to the Schuylkill River on the west and included space for five public parks.

“Holy Experiment” and “Seed of a Nation”

As the founder and proprietor of the new colony, Penn certainly aimed to profit from real estate sales. Still, he also believed that God had destined the colony to be “the seed of a nation” and a “holy experiment.” The name Philadelphia comes from the New Testament Book of Revelation. It refers to one of the seven cities in Asia Minor with early Christian churches to whom the apocalyptic book was initially addressed. In the biblical text, Philadelphia was destined to become the “New Jerusalem” or the city of God. Penn was motivated by the notion that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent, and he founded Philadelphia in anticipation of that event. The return of Christ could be hastened by creating a moral community or an experience of God that serves as an example to the rest of the world. Penn intended Philadelphia to be a “city of brotherly love,” in which its citizens recognized that God founded it and would seek to follow him.

Penn arrived in Philadelphia with his founding charter titled “Frame of Government.” This document would later be updated in 1701 to become the Charter of Privileges, which served as the colony’s charter until the American Revolution. In this document, he outlined some basic principles of Penn’s understanding of religious freedom.

That all persons living in this province, who confess and acknowledge the one Almighty and eternal God, to be the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the world; and that hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall, in no ways, be molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion, or practice, in matters of faith and worship, nor shall they be compelled, at any time, to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatever.

In summary, residents could practice any faith they wished, as long as they believed in the one God and lived in peace with their neighbors. Also, they were not compelled to attend church. Notably, there is no reference to Jesus Christ as the Son of God, leaving latitude to permit the practice of other monotheistic religions. However, Penn’s vision of religious freedom did not grant residents free rein to do anything they wanted. There were strict morality laws against swearing, stage plays, playing cards or dice, cock fighting, or “any activity that would excite people to rudeness, cruelty, looseness or irreligion.”

Judged by contemporary standards, Penn’s vision of religious freedom was circumscribed, and it would be experienced unevenly by the colony’s residents. Nonetheless, Penn deserves credit for envisioning a society that allowed far more religious diversity, practices, and beliefs than most other colonial locales. Penn’s colony was distinct from most other colonies because it lacked an established church. In colonies with an established church, taxes would fund the salaries of clergy and the construction and maintenance of church buildings. These colonies placed restrictions on the activities of those outside of the established church. For instance, in Virginia, where the Anglican Church was established, non-Anglicans, such as Baptists and Methodists, were required to get a permit to preach. Those who violated this law were fined or imprisoned. In colonies like Massachusetts, where the Congregational Church reigned supreme, Catholics, Jews, and Quakers were not welcome. Four Quakers, including Mary Dyer, were hanged in Boston for defying church authorities.

William Penn recognized that religious persecution hindered economic growth and prosperity. Philadelphia attracted a wide variety of religious adherents, making it one of North America's most diverse and prosperous cities during the colonial and early national periods. Penn was not alone in these views; other colonial leaders in locales such as Rhode Island, New York, and Charleston, South Carolina, recognized the link between religious toleration and economic prosperity. However, Pennsylvania’s commitment to religious liberty was made by design, rather than as an accommodation to commercial interests.

Swedish Lutherans built Gloria Dei between 1698 and 1700. It is the oldest surviving brick building in Philadelphia and the oldest church in Pennsylvania. In 1845, its congregation joined the Episcopal Church. The church is one of the only sites that William Penn visited that still stands.

Opened in 1761 as an Anglican Church, St. Peter’s Church is now an Episcopal church. St. Peter’s was organized and built as a “chapel of ease” to accommodate the overcrowding and inconvenience caused by the distance to Christ Church for residents of the Society Hill neighborhood.

Old Pine Presbyterian Church, officially known as Third, Scots, and Mariners Presbyterian Church, was founded in 1768 and is the single pre-Revolutionary Presbyterian structure still standing in Philadelphia. Known as the “Church of the Patriots,” Old Pine and its parishioners played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War.

Mother Bethel Church was founded in 1794 by Bishop Richard Allen. The Church sits on the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans. It is also one of the nation’s first formal African American Christian congregations, as well as the mother church of the broader African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination.

Mikveh Israel Cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia, established in 1740, and is the oldest tangible evidence of Jewish communal life in the city.

Washington Square is a 6.4-acre park initially designated by the city’s founder, William Penn, as one of the five squares he envisioned designating green space in the city. The square served various purposes throughout its history, including a grazing pasture, a military training site, a burial ground for the poor and those of no religious affiliation, and a gathering space for varied religious expressions among the city’s free and enslaved persons of African descent.

The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas traces its origins to the nondenominational African Church of Philadelphia, which was organized by members of Philadelphia’s Black community, many of whom were part of the Free African Society. Following a discussion about denominational affiliation, a decision was made to affiliate with the Episcopal Church, which led to a separation within the fledgling congregation. The majority had chosen to apply for admission to the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania as a fully-formed parish under the leadership of Absalom Jones.

Constructed in 1763, St. Mary’s is the second-oldest Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. After its enlargement in 1810, it became the first Catholic Cathedral of the Diocese of Philadelphia. Key revolutionary figures, such as George Washington and John Adams, attended mass here to gain Catholic support for the revolutionary cause.

Founded in 1733 by the Society of Jesus, Old St. Joseph’s is the oldest Catholic church in Philadelphia and the first urban Catholic church in the British colonies. The site was the only space where Catholics legally held public mass in the British colonies until 1763.

Freemasonry is the largest and one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the world. It played a significant role in colonial America, emerging as a fraternal organization and a network of influential thinkers and leaders. It emerged from medieval English stonemasons' guilds. By the seventeenth century, the movement flourished among the upper middle class and elite men, emphasizing the importance of reason in human society. Freemasons have long been known for charitable efforts, rituals and teachings that foster moral and ethical development, and for their belief in a non-sectarian, Supreme Being, referred to as The Supreme Architect of the Universe.

Chief Tamanend was a Lenni-Lenape chief who led land negotiations with William Penn in the 1680s. His name means the “Affable One” in the native language. Tamanend was held in high regard by the Lenni-Lenape people, who bestowed his name upon others to preserve his memory, and by Quakers, who recognized his hospitality in welcoming them to Native lands. Before European colonization, the Lenni-Lenape had practiced their religion in what is now Pennsylvania for thousands of years.

Christ Church, often called “The Nation’s Church”, founded in 1695 as the first Anglican Church in Pennsylvania, played a significant role during the American Revolution, serving a congregation that included both patriots and loyalists. Its ministers, who had sworn loyalty to the British king, acted as chaplains to the Continental Congress, and after the war, William White helped establish the American Episcopal Church, becoming its first Presiding Bishop and ordaining the first Black priest, Absalom Jones.

The church’s pews were occupied by prominent figures like Presidents Washington and Adams, and its burial ground holds more signers of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution than any other site.

Philadelphia’s religious diversity extended beyond traditional religious or denominational affiliations and categories. Deism was an Enlightenment theology based on reason that shaped the thinking of many late-eighteenth-century Americans, especially the founders. Freethought is a broader category that also emphasizes reason, but it places particular emphasis on independent thought and the questioning of religious dogma.

218 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA (original location of First Baptist Burial Ground)

123 S 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA (current location of First Baptist Church of Philadelphia)

The First Baptist Church Burial Ground was the burial site for one of the city’s oldest congregations, and those buried there represented a broad cross section of early city life. Excavation during a construction project in 2016 revealed that 500 human remains had been left behind when most had been transferred to Mt. Moriah cemetery in 1860. 218 Arch Street is now a residential condo building. If you are at the site, walk east and turn right down Little Boy's Court. The condo has a sunken courtyard, which is the location of the bulk of the human remains excavated at this site.

Constructed between 1803 and 1811, the Arch Street Meeting House is the largest Quaker meeting house in the world. The location has been central to Quaker efforts in peace, social justice, and equality, hosting key activists, including Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass, who advanced the causes of abolition, women's rights, and social reform.

The southeast corner of 4th and Arch was the location of a building constructed in 1740 as a charity school and a gathering space “for the use of any preacher of any religious persuasion who might desire to say something to the people at Philadelphia.” In 1751, Benjamin Franklin and other civic leaders took over the building and established what is now recognized as the oldest modern university in the U.S. While other colleges at the time primarily focused on training Protestant clergy, the College of Philadelphia offered a non-sectarian, classical education blended with practical and professional skills. Its name was later changed to the University of Pennsylvania in 1791.

Congregation Mikveh Israel, also known as the "Synagogue of the American Revolution," is the oldest Jewish congregation in Philadelphia and one of the oldest continuously operating synagogues in the United States. Its origin can be traced to Nathan Levy securing permission to establish a Jewish cemetery in 1740. Members of the congregation helped shape Jewish life in Philadelphia and made significant contributions advocating for minority religious rights during the founding of the U.S. and assisting immigrants to Philadelphia.

St. George’s United Methodist Church is the oldest American Methodist Church still in continuous service. Opened in 1769, it is referred to as the “Cradle of American Methodism.”

Founded by the Irish-born Father Mathew J. Carr in 1796, St. Augustine’s Catholic Church was the first permanent establishment of the Augustinian Order in the United States. The first building was burned to the ground during an upsurge of anti-Catholic violence in 1844, but was rebuilt three years later. Villanova University has its origins in an academy established here.

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. A private, nonprofit organization, the Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its congressional charter to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.

Be sure to view the National Constitution Center's America 250 resources, including interactive tools to explore the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

This is the end of the Religious Freedom Walk. Thank you for taking this journey!

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