What Is The Role Of Religious Toleration In Colonial America

In British North American colonies prior to 1700, colonies in different areas tolerated religious freedom differently; in general, New England colonies had strict religion rules, Southern colonies had an established religion but tolerated religious freedom to an extent, and the Middle colonies readily accepted religious freedom.

Tended to be more conservative, formal, and rational in their forms of worship than the Puritans, Quakers, or Baptists

In the early seventeenth century, the English began to establish colonies in the New World. The colonies in New England consisted of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. While, the colonies making up the Chesapeake region were Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Given that the New England and Chesapeake region were both largely settled by those of English origin, by the 1700 they had evolved into two distinct societies because of the contrast in their geographical locations, their political structure, and their social hierarchy.

The New England colonies came to the New World for religious freedom. Their religious groups consisted of Calvinists, Puritans, and Dutch Reformed. The Puritans were religious separatists from England. The Puritans left England because they believed that the Catholic Church wasn’t reformed enough. The Pilgrims were concerned with the “Dutchification of their children so they received permission from the Virginia Company to live and work in Jamestown. The Massachusetts Bay Company were non separatists that were still connected to the Church of England. They focused on

1647 to 1776 was a time of growth in America, during this time colonist emigrated from Europe to America for several reasons, such as the hope to find relief from the war and rebellion occupying Europe, the chance to find bigger farms to make money, and most of all the chance to have religious freedom (“The Thirteen American Colonies” n.d.). Religious freedom was a very important part of the colonists’ lives and culture. According to “Religion and the Founding of the American Republic”, between 1700 and 1740, an estimated 75 to 80 percent of the population attended churches, which were being built at a headlong pace.

In the seventeenth century many people left Britain for America to seek new opportunities. Most of these colonies were segregated by religion. The Puritans settled in New England, while the Anglicans journeyed to Virginia. These sects had very different lifestyles and approaches as to how life should be in America. The Puritans were much more strict about their religious observance.

The early American colonies were founded and settled by Great Britain. Accordingly, Church of England was the state sponsored religion in this area. Most individuals identified themselves at Protestants and most of the settlers considered themselves church members. Even with these facts the Anglican Church struggled to keep its base in the colonies and to move into newly settled areas. This happened because of the church leadership, several church practices, and the topography of the colonies.

Within the colonies religion is still major part of daily life. However due to expanding into the more frontier lands several issues aroused such as conflicts of the native peoples and being exposed to new dangers and harsher environment. These issues caused tensions in many communities which allowed cries of witchcraft aroused. Also the common patriarchal family, the women figure was commonly a house wife doing very hard physical work and children bearing responsibilities. Most of the time the women was never defended against when she was experiencing physical, sexual, or verbal abuse , but if she came from a well-respected family she was able to separate from her husband . Also the colonist continued to expand westward into the colonies.

Religious beliefs had its role in making the colonies different from one another. The Anglican religion, which included the Baptists and Presbyterians faiths, didn't have an everyday effect on the way the southerners lived there

The role of religion must also be discussed. It is important to point out many dominations of Protestantism were prevalent in the American colonies. This is something J.C.D Clark points out, ‘Protestantism in the Anglophone world had from the outset been marked by its proliferating diversities’ (Secondary Source 17.2, 2015, p.2). However, the establishment of King’s College in 1754 was perceived in the periphery as Anglicanism being intertwined with government. The Anglican bishops were believed to be ‘agents of the government’ (Speck, 2008, p.22). The establishment of the Anglican Church was opposed for two reasons: firstly, it went against the character of the American colonies with all the different dominations living together without government

In the year 1776, the American Colonies drafted the Declaration of Independence. This document symbolized freedom from Great Britain. According to Essentials of American Government Roots and Reform,” Englishmen and other Europeans left home seeking to enhance their fortunes. With them came a host of laborers who hoped to find their own opportunities for riches [in the American colonies]” (O’Connor, Sabato, and Yanus 6). As the colonies grew in size and stability, an influx of Englishmen came to America for a variety of incentives. Two of these incentives would include: recognition for accomplished goals and religious freedom. The desire of religious freedom led to the development of many colonies, faiths, and laws. In the

It surprise me a lot the contribution that religion had in each important process of the creation of this country, and the part that the Pilgrims and Puritans played in this process, a group of immigrants that arrived to New England; interesting enough very similar to the situation that is a topic today in news regarding the situation with the immigrants living and struggling in this country.

Colonies of colonial America had different views when it came to religion, but they all had one thing in common. All of the colonies had to some extent,

During colonial times, European nations quickly colonized the New World years after Columbus’ so called discovery. England in particular sent out a number of groups to the east coast of the New World to two regions. These areas were the New England and the Chesapeake regions. Later in the late 1700s, these two regions would go though many conflicts to come together as one nation. Yet, way before that would occur; these two areas developed into two distinct societies. These differences affected the colonies socially, economically, and politically.

Fanon focuses on two related desires that constitute the pathology of the colonial situation: “The Black man wants to be white. The White man is desperately trying to achieve the rank of man” (p. xiii). As an unconscious desire, this can result in a series of irrational behaviors and beliefs, such as the Antillean speaking French, the desire for a white spouse or sexual partner, or cosmetic treatments of skin whitening and hair straightening.