The Maryland Toleration Act 1649 Analysis

Religion is the belief in a higher power, by higher power I mean something something superhuman or inhuman, that is worshipped, followed, and cherished as the almighty guiding light or pathway through life and afterlife. Religion is the practicing of following a guiding figure or higher power. Religious guidance may occur with or without a God, but regardless of whether a God is present or not in the specific religion being practiced or not, it is still a belief in something superhuman, generally a higher power or purpose found in something inhumane. Religion gives that higher power or guiding figures supreme importance and significant to the community which follows. In some sense, religion is the bonding, and sometimes even the controlling,

Freedom of religion was first applied as a principle in the founding of the Maryland Colony in 1634. The Maryland Toleration Act, drafted by Lord Baltimore, provided:

Additionally, the struggle for religious dominance in England had unsurprisingly reared its head in the colonies as well (Schultz, 2009). When Lord Baltimore (Catholic) who was given proprietorship over Maryland for religious reasons, he realized the potential for violence due to religious differences, and he enacted the “Toleration act [in] 1649” (Schultz, 2009, p. 54). This act, albeit not an end-all for religious constraint, was a foundation for the rights of all colonist to worship in the manner of their choosing. However, constraint due to religious denomination was far from over in the New

Through history, religion has shaped civilizations in several aspects. In ancient Indian and Egyptian civilizations it was very strong shaping force in political structures, but both the religious beliefs and the resulting political system were different, just like pharaohs were different from rajas.

The Southern colonies, Middle colonies, and New England colonies all developed their political experience in self-government. The Southern colonies interchanged religion with politics, similar to the New England colonies. Specifically in the Chesapeake colony of Maryland, the Toleration Act of 1649 was passed in order to grant freedom of religion resulting in the first act to be passed regarding religious freedom. The New England colonies’ political views were also strongly influenced by their Puritan beliefs, which led to the separation of the church and state. However, the Middle colonies believed in religious freedom. Pennsylvania created the first democracy in America, which promised the equality for all. The varied political aspects of each colony created in the early to mid-eighteenth century even impacts even the politics in society

The significant reasons for instituting religious tolerance was that Catholics and Protestants followed the first colonists to American. There were many religious conflicts between the beliefs of the Catholics and the Protestants. Lord Baltimore created a Toleration Act of 1649, attempt to reduce conflicts among the two religious groups. The Toleration Act of 1649 made it a crime to restrict the religious rights of Christians and was the first law supporting religious tolerance passed in the English colonies. Maryland set up this law to show that all Christians could live together in peace that was unknown in England. The Toleration Act did not stop all religious conflict, but it helped show that the government some religious freedom and protected

That same year, King Charles was beheaded, and Lord Baltimore sent the Maryland Assembly a bill for religious toleration known as the Toleration Act. With some revisions, the Assembly passed the Toleration Act into law, a landmark in colonial American history, guaranteeing that government would not interfere with freedom of worship. Although the Act was repealed in the late 1600s, it influenced the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights as the First Amendment ensured the separation of church and

Unlike Middle and Southern colonies, New England came here mostly for religion and to escape the Church of England. Although it is true that some people in Southern and Middle colonies came to practice their own religion, most colonies just wanted a piece of land in America because it was a status symbol back then. One of the colonies that stood out from the rest was Pennsylvania. William Penn founded a very open colony with much religious tolerance. He sent flyers out to advertise in Europe. People from Europe and beyond came to Pennsylvania because any religion was tolerated. Alexander Hamilton said “I dined at a tavern with a very mixed company of different nations and religions. There were Scots, English, Dutch, Germans, and Irish. There were Roman Catholics, Church [of England] men, Presbyterians, Quakers, … Moravians … and one Jew”. Another example of religious tolerance is the Southern colonies. Lord Baltimore did this so he could get more people to come to Maryland. No other colony allowed religious tolerance for this

For the New England colonies like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, they had the Mayflower Compact. Their political and government structure had a interrelation between politics and religion. It dictated the economic, political, and social lives of colonists. Each town had meetings, elected legislatures, debated, and issued laws. Voting was allowed to white men who went to church. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, or the Middle Colonies, elected representatives to assemblies. The assemblies would then elect government officials which passed laws and did the decision makings. The Middle Colonies had religious tolerance that was founded by William Penn and practiced by the Quakers and it played a minor role in politics and economy. For the Chesapeake colonies, the House of Burgesses was founded in Jamestown where

Maryland was founded in 1634 and was the first proprietary colony, given by the king to Sir George Calvert, a prominent Englishman, for creation of a Catholic haven. Eventually, growth of Protestants meant Catholics became a minority; Catholics feared loss of religious freedom leading to the adoption of the Act of Toleration in 1649, guaranteeing tolerance to all Christians. Catholics sought to protect their faith by granting a certain degree of religious freedom with Maryland becoming the largest haven for Catholics in the British American colonies. After England’s “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, which established the Protestant faith in England, Catholicism was outlawed in Maryland until after the Revolutionary War. The Puritan government

In the early 1600s, colonies such as Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maryland, were built on various religious principles. In addition to the colonist focus on gaining their independence and having the freedom to live as they chose; away for England 's ruling. However, religion was a major battle for those upcoming settlements. Many had their own perception of what they thought was the truth about the Bible and if anyone opposed their belief, harm was due to them.

The accomplishments and success of civilizations are closely linked to their religious outlook and the role of religion in their governments and society. Throughout history rulers have used the influence of religions to control their populations and provide the justification for their power. A society with a greater degree of separation between religion and government promotes a superior level of liberty and creativity amongst its people. By the time of the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, however, the world had come full circle to a return to theocratic dictatorship.

In a national sense, religious belief and identity can separate whole nations from one another, like in the case of Ireland and England, one of the defining differences is our belief in a different branch of Christianity. This can have disastrous effects on the world as a whole. Religion can be held accountable for the majority of warfare and bloodshed in the world today as nations attack each over their differing beliefs and ideals. Many nations will use religion and beliefs to try to justify the awful atrocities they commit on one another. In this sense, religion

Religion can invade, conquer, and rule masses of people far more effectively and efficiently than any empire or conqueror. This is not to spark a heated discussion about religions. Its purpose is, to say that, even though it is highly debatable whether religions are false or true, most of them serve a very basic purpose of establishing morals and values. Early religions were used as a source of power and economic growth. Even if one doesn’t believe in or agree with the teachings of any religion, history shows proof that it creates a sense of order. There are many religions in the past that have brought order and civilized conduct to large numbers of people, not through military conquest, but through the promise of reward or the fear of punishment. Religion is the glue that binds local communities into nationhood and creates common understandings and shared values that are essential to the growth of a civilization. No religion is fully formed at its start, so why did some religion play such a big role in growth of the Ancient Civilizations.

Religion can be defined as a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. It contains a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices that allow its followers to live their life a certain way. The world consists of 19 major religions, which are further subdivided into 270 larger groups. According to David Barrett et al, editor of the “World Christian Encyclopedia,” there are 34,000 separate Christian groups around the world. Just from those numbers alone, we can conclude that religion has a prevalent effect on people and society. Religion is viewed as a positive influence on an individual both psychologically and physically. Throughout history we can study the various effects that religion has on society. Studies generally provide great evidence in favor of religion having a positive effect on individuals and society as a whole.