It is not known with certainty to which religious group Philip and his sons belonged.  There were several Protestant factions who emigrated to the new world in the middle 1700’s.  German Protestants were persecuted so severely in the old world that they fled Germany, taking sanctuary in Holland and Switzerland where they were free to practice their religious beliefs unmolested. Some Germans emigrated directly from Germany by way of the Rhine River to. Amsterdam, Holland, then taking passage to the new world. It is believed most, if not all, were followers of Luther in Germany,  but in the colonies many formed groups that were to evolve into Baptists, Brethren, Mennonites, Amish, and Dunkers.  All these sects regularly held services in the churches of Rockingham County, Virginia.

Some descendants of Abraham Waggy, who lived in Pendleton Co., Va. say that the family originally belonged to the Lutheran Church.  Many Germans of this faith, both from Germany and Switzerland, came to America from 1717 to 1729 because of religious persecution in those countries.    Many of them went to Pennsylvania and Virginia.