The Huffington Post  | By Yasmine Hafiz

As we celebrate the 238th birthday of America this July 4, we look back on the religious movements that began right here in the U.S. of America.

Here’s a timeline of some of the most well-known spiritual traditions:

Native Traditions: 9,000 BCE Or Earlier

Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Nation, dance Friday, June 13, 2014 during a Cannon Ball flag day celebration, at the Cannon Ball powwow grounds at Cannonball, N.D. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visited the reservation, his first trip to Indian Country as president and only the third such visit by a sitting president in almost 80 years. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

America’s very first inhabitants have a rich religious history that goes all the way back to prehistoric times, with traditions specific to each tribe. These religious beliefs include diverse origin myths, burial rituals, the existence of a Creator, and an afterlife, and are still held by many Native Americans today.

Shakers: 1772

The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing were known as Shakers, due to their trembling style of dance which was intended to “shake” off sins during their vigorous worship. The Shaker movement was founded by Mother Ann Lee, who traveled from England to America in 1774 to find a place for the sect to grow. The community believed in celibacy, communal life, and confession of sin as their basic tenets, while also holding fast to the ideals of pacifism, equality of races and genders, and isolation from the world. A small but active Shaker community lives today at the Sabbathday Lake in Maine.

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