It is a fairly well known fact that the colonization of the New World in general, and more specifically, what would become eventually become the United States of America, was heavily based upon commercial endeavors. However, it was also heavily influenced by the desire of people to possess and preserve religious independence. Placing the potential for commercial success aside and focusing on the religious aspects of colonization, the proliferation of various religions over the course of colonial history is quite extensive and, by proxy, its’ influence upon developing colonial societies was far-reaching. Because of the historical significance of many different religions throughout the colonies, it would also suggest that religious diversity was likely equally impactful in eliciting change. All of this leads this author to speculate about how much influence religion had upon colonial upheaval over time and whether or not the ensuing dissent was a major factor in the lead up to The French and Indian War and eventual revolution of the American colonies. To uncover the significance and role religion played in the American colonies, a number of different articles were reviewed, each representing different perspectives, points of view, and empirical evidence about religion in colonial America.
Religion throughout Colonial America
To begin with, religious worship in Colonial America was as diverse as the various colonies themselves; different geographical landscapes and a
English colonies in the middle of the 17th century were essentially white, English Protestants. A little more than 100 years later, these English colonies started to become more diverse. Different races, ethnic groups, and religious groups started to move into North American. During the time of 1650 to 1755, new forces such as religion, ethnicity and race affected Great Britain's North American colonies.
The Puritan community of the Massachusetts Bay colony was primarily focused around church and faith. In 1630, a mass exodus of Puritans moved from England to the colonies in an attempt to isolate themselves and focus on their own religion. Puritans believed that they had a covenant with God, meaning they were predestined for heaven.
In a time when numerous countries were beginning to explore the new and exciting land of North America during the Age of Exploration, and groups of people from England and Spain were fleeing their home countries either for religious freedom or wealth, vast and civilized colonies began to form all throughout the New World. It is in this context that the colonies founded by the English and the Spanish began to develop and grow. There was a significant difference between the Spanish and New England colonies between 1492 and 1700 in terms of the treatment of indigenous people, and there were some immense similarities between the two colonies in terms of the role of religion in their society and the
In 1682, Pennsylvania, the twelfth British colony, was formed. This colony, like the eleven others already founded, was instituted with a comparable style of government and its own questionable religious prejudices. Throughout the colonies, levels of religious understanding fluctuated, apart from a few exemptions. For example, the Middle Colonies had a great deal of open-mindedness when it came to religion, whereas New England had a scarce amount, if any toleration for religious independence at all.
Compare the ways in which religion shaped the development of colonial society (to 1740) in TWO of the following regions: New England
Colonial America was a time of great change and discovery. The era was a time of conflict between people’s secular desires as innovation boomed and their spiritual growth as they discovered more about God and explored new religious ideas. In his essay, Worlds of Wonder in the Northern Colonies, David D. Hall accurately argues that despite the secular advances of the Colonial Era, religion was undoubtedly the most prevalent area of Americans’ focus because the power of God was being manifested into their lives in so many irrefutable ways.
All the British colonies allowed the practice of many religions, but there were some colonies that only allowed it to a certain extent. An example would be Massachusetts, who allowed religious freedom, but only to the Puritans. They did not allow others to practice any other religion, and if they did, they were prosecuted. Rhode Island and Pennsylvania were the only two colonies that allowed religious freedom to the fullest extent. They believed people should be able to practice their own religion. The New England Colonies, except for Rhode Island, were all strict of religious freedom. The Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies had a mix of religions from Jews, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans, and others.
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of
Throughout colonial time there were many beliefs, movements, and conquests that happened within many countries. One of them in which was the spiritual conquest of the Spanish and the Portuguese. This spiritual conquest would undoubtedly be carried over to the Americas. Due to religion being very important to both the Europeans and the Natives this lead to a conflict that cause fights, missions, and resistances to increase.
The other colonies had their own way with religion that they made work along with the social situation in each colony. Colonies had different opinions on certain things in society, like the colonies in the North disagreeing with slavery in the South. All of the colonies learned to work with what they had and made the best of it to
Jaden Ackerman Mrs. Auble APUSH Block 3 August 11, 2015 UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: 4. Summarize the role of religion in the colonies during the 1600s Religion played a huge roll in the colonies in the 1600s especially since each colony had a different religion. The New England Colonies were primarily puritans and had little tolerance for other religions. The exception was Rhode Island who was religiously open and was founded by a Massachusetts exile named Roger Williams. Roger Williams founded the first Baptist Church in the colonies in Rhode Island.
The British Colonists traveled over into the New World for society to work out in their own favor. However, this was not the case for these colonists; they carelessly came into the New World with the intent of having their own freedom of religion, being culturally intertwined with the natives already, and for their own overall independence economically . The British did not make a smooth transformation into this New World when they first arrived over seas, they brought chaos not only to the Natives but also the development of their colonies and themselves.
This article relates to religion and ethnic diversity in the 13 American colonies. In European countries, of the time, most colonies financially supported one religion or another. By 1760, ethnically distinct regions could be found throughout the colonies. The five largest groups of the Europeans were the English, Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch, and Scots. This article
Advocates that religious diversity is acquiring a new significance; Also giving to an authoritative reality on modern settings; describes the demolition of accustom methods and circumstances of religious aspects. As a result of several new forces at work in the South, the new plurality of diverse faiths and the challenging of standard forms that have set the pace for all models that presents a new image of religion on the Southern landscape; indeed the heterogeneity in the American South has existed since the early seventeenth century; shows the southern colonies from Maryland to Georgia were inundated with various forms of faith and the current trends are more so than the past. Describes that fundamentalism was not widely accepted because
Religion was one of the most considerable and long lasting forces behind the creation of America. The people who took the first voyages over to the New World sought trade and prosperity, in addition to fleeing religious oppression. From the first step of a European on the new world's soil, the religious push began and didn't stop any time soon. Christopher Columbus, along with other explorers had strong religious faith intertwined with their desire of exploration. Whether they were of the same religion or different, spreading their beliefs was part of their exploration goals. Centuries later when the first of the original thirteen colonies were forming, religious beliefs were being applied to newcomers and to those who already harvested the land before the arrival of the Europeans.