Beecher, Lyman -- Autobiography, Vol. 1, ch. 51 “Downfall of the Standing Order” (1864) [ed. Charles Beecher]

Dave — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:52:21 +0000

It was as dark a day as ever I saw. The injury done to the cause of Christ [by disestablishment], as we then supposed, was irreparable. For several days I suffered what no tongue can tell for the best thing that ever happened to the State of Connecticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on state support. It threw them wholly on their own resources and on God.

Lyman Beecher (1775-1863) American minister, preacher, abolitionist
Autobiography, Vol. 1, ch. 51 “Downfall of the Standing Order” (1864) [ed. Charles Beecher]
(Source)

Regarding the 1918 disestablishment of the Congregational Church in Connecticut, which Beecher had fought against. Prior to that the Congregational Church had been receiving direct tax funding by the state, which was the source of growing protest from other denominations.

Beecher went on to write about the disestablishment:

They say ministers have lost their influence; the fact is, they have gained. By voluntary efforts, societies, missions, and revivals, they exert a deeper influence than ever they could by queues, and shoe-buckles, and cocked hats, and gold-headed canes.

WIST Quotations

Beecher, Lyman -- Autobiography, Vol. 1, ch. 51 “Downfall of the Standing Order” (1864) [ed. Charles Beecher]