Unconditional Religious Freedom In The Colonies

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.

The colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut made up the New England colonies. Most of the Europeans in the New England colonies were there to escape the religious persecution they faced in England. They practiced a lot of different things in these colonies compared to the middle and southern and colonies of colonial america.

In early 1600's, Puritans followed the Pilgrims to America then they landed in Massachusetts bay. The Puritans started the colony because they wanted to escape religious persecution. The only religion was the Puritans.In the early 1600's of, Massachusetts there was only one Indian tribe,and that was the Wampanoag. Puritans tried to purify the Anglican church because they wanted to make services simpler and taking ranks of authority

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.

Separatism is mentioned often throughout the story also. Separatism is more directed to people who believed that religion should be viewed perfectly. Puritans and Separatists often had the trouble of getting along just because of the differences between the two. Instead of being in one church like the puritans preferred, the separatists believed in forming multiple churches and believed that religion should be spread out. John Winthrop was a Puritan who wanted to share his religion. Since there weren’t many puritans in England, he wanted to form a new colony where he could have strictly just Puritans. This new colony was labeled the “new world” also known as, the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John ended

With religious reforms causing controversy in England came the Puritans, known for their simplicity in their way of life. They wore basic clothing and were against consumption of alcohol and sex (unless married). With the disagreements of the religious conflicts happening in England, the puritans “wanted to purify the Church of England from within.” The sole reason the idea sparked to settle a colony in America was in search of a Puritan lifestyle and the freedom to do so. On March 4, 1629 King Charles gave the Massachusetts Bay Company a charter while not knowing the true nature of what this colony was to become and for the reasons behind it. Still, the Puritans left for America in March 1630. In contrast to the type of people who immigrated to Virginia, the Massachusetts population was mostly nuclear families, meaning husband, wife, and kids. Also differing from the colonists in Virginia, the settlers in Massachusetts Bay worked together for the common good of the colony. Along with their lives and beliefs, their government and politics were religiously based as well and soon they decided upon a Congregationalism form of church government. Their churches were a matter of choice but in order to become a member they had a strict regulation “In order to join one (a church) a man or woman had to provide testimony–a confession of faith–before neighbors who already had been admitted as full members.” Because religion was the bases behind Massachusetts being colonization crimes and religious disagreements called for serious

They had a jagged coast with lots of hills. The mountains were thick with trees, rivers, and rocky soil. They weren’t at all suitable for crops.

wanted to get away from Great Britain to purify their faith and religion, they didn’t agree

Connecticut, Plymouth, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and New Haven all made up the region that was New England. It laid just north of the colony of Chesapeake. The New Englanders wanted and longed for religious freedom. They were known as Puritan Separatists, they wanted complete separation from the Church of England. Protestantism was an evolution that thrived in England once the Church separated from Catholicism. These people wanted to turn toward Calvinism, because of this they began to be called “Separatists”. They were not alone in this, joined with them where

Pilgrims were the first to arrive on the Mayflower. They were expected to land in Virginia, but trailed off course, landing in Plymouth. They created the Mayflower Compact which states that all who sign the document were to remain faithful to the king and behave like a good citizen. The Pilgrims worked nicely with the Pequot Indians. They had the help of Squanto and Samoset, who taught them how to farm and survive. The Puritans were the second group of individuals to arrive in Massachusetts. John Winthrop, the first governor, wanted to create a tight-knit community and a model society for Christians. This was known as “City Upon a Hill”. They developed laws that was connected with the church and the state. The Puritans valued education, so they built Harvard University to train Puritan ministers. There was also religious tension with the Puritans. Kids of religious parents didn’t want a public conversion. The church wanted the kids to stay, so they created the Half-Way Covenant. It stated that the kids can continue becoming Puritans if they read the Bible and had parents who went through a public conversion. Next, there was a crisis with witchcraft, known as the Salem Witch Trials. The settlers were afraid of witches, connecting it with the Devil. When the kids started behaving oddly, blame was casted towards women and

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

The first English colonies. Virginia and Massachusetts would set the stage for many colonies to come. Due to them being the first two colonies, one would assume they would be very similar. But (Thesis) The colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts have drastically different political and economic systems because of their views of religion, means of gaining financial stability, and reasoning behind their founding,

The religious Massachusetts Bay colony was founded in the early 1600’s by Puritans for religious freedom. The puritans were considered dedicated

Early English settlers came to colonial America to escape religious oppression in England, however, one settling in America they enforced their own religious oppression on both natives, and colonials who dared to question their religion. The colonial hierarchy had a very basic pattern, those who followed the religion of the colony had the most power. Those who opposed were given little to no power, and we often forced to either stay silent or leave the community as a whole in search of land in which they were free to express their beliefs. This religious oppression is a common theme with the Puritan community of New England, where Roger Williams was forced to move to providence due to his beliefs, so called “witches” were murdered with little proof of any wrongdoing, and Native Americans were looked at as impure due to their culture. By sustaining a society of religious oppression the Puritans were able to hold a great amount of power in the Northern colonies of America.

The Massachusetts colony, otherwise known as the ‘Massachusetts Bay colony’ was originally settled by Puritans in 1630. They were plagued by the religious persecutions of King Charles I and the Church of England. Weary from this dogged torment, they left England under the leadership of John Winthrop. These original colonists quickly established many small towns in the name of high religious ideals and strict societal rules. They also planted churches, spread Puritanism and religiously educated the masses, as these were some of their goals. A utopian society that other colonies looked upon with high regards was the ultimate goal.