“For thus the Lord said to me:
‘Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees.”1
Since its inception, America has been a deeply anti Clerical nation. Since the Puritans and pirates reached these shores, this hostility has been nurtured and grown. Anti-clericalism, or the rejection of a separate and distinct class of religious leaders, has been a central aspect of American Christianity since then. Every aspect of American Ecclesiastical organizations bears witness to this, from the Congregationalists of New England to the Presbyterians of the middle colonies and the Anglicans of the South. All three bodies, who made up the mass of American Christianity, placed significant power in the hands of overseers of the priestly roles.
Back in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church had created the position of Ruling Elder, whereby non-ordained and non-clerical leaders in the community had a measure of oversight in church affairs, and this demonstrated their profoundly republican sympathies. The Congregationalists of New England and Presbyterians brought this over with them, and the role of the Elder was to be even more powerful in America than it was back in Scotland. But where this sentiment really shines through is the creation of the Vestrymen within the American Anglican/Episcopal Church. No such position existed in the Anglican church back in England. But in the Americas, these lay overseers became a staple. George Washington himself served as Vestryman for his church throughout his life.2
These Vestrymen managed the property and finances, as well as assisted in caring for the needy in the congregation. This emphasis on lay leadership was not simply a practical matter; it also reflected a deep-seated belief in the importance of the "priesthood of all believers." This doctrine, first articulated by Martin Luther, holds that all believers, not just ordained ministers, have direct access to God and are called to participate in the work of the Church. No fancy robes divided who could appeal directly to heaven and who could not.
Such anti-clericalism is also reflected in the formation of the United States Federal Government. The Constitution, for example, separates church and state, and disallows the federal government from establishing an official religion. This principle is further reinforced by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion and the right to practice one's religion without interference from the government. Thomas Jefferson would fume,
“History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government”3 and “[i]n every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.”4
When Governor Thomas Hutchinson would return to England, King George grilled him particularly on why Ministers consistently sided with the rabble-rouser Samuel Adams over the Crown’s Governor and government. Governor Hutchinson replied simply “They are, Sir, dependent upon the people”.5
It was the Vestrymen and Elders who ultimately controlled the congregations in America, a belief that American Christians largely carry with them to this day. One cannot understand the American character without appreciating the profound disdain it has for the priest. The great American Poet Walt Whitman would write in 1855, in Leaves of Grass that
“There will soon be no more priests. Their work is done. They may wait awhile … perhaps a generation or two … dropping off by degrees. A superior breed shall take their place … the gangs of kosmos and prophets en masse shall take their place. A new order shall arise and they shall be the priests of man, and every man shall be his own priest.”6
Isaiah 21:6
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/religion/churchwarden-and-vestryman/
Letter to Alexander von Humboldt regarding religion in Mexico, December 6, 1813
Letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814
Ira Stoll. "The Revolutionary Gospel According To Samuel Adams." Ira Stoll - Accessed 1/26/2023. https://www.historynet.com/revolutionary-gospel-according-samuel-adams/
Prefaces and Prologues. Vol. XXXIX. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/39/.