Religious Freedom In The American Colonies Essay

Religious Freedom in the American Colonies Prior to the 1700s The first amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees citizens their right to practice any religion they wish without persecution today, but many years ago when this country was made up of only 13 colonies on the east coast, that was often times not the case. It’s surprising how many were not tolerant of religions different from their own because the main reason why people fled to America was to escape religious persecution. In Britain, the Anglican Church ruled over the country as there was no separation of church and state. Anyone who believed different from the Church was punished severely, so many traveled to America to seek refuge. Colonies were established with
It was more about business and commerce, and no one really traveled to that region for religious reasons. However, where New England was incredibly intolerant of different religions, and where religious freedom was almost guaranteed in the Middle Colonies, the South was a mixture of both sections. The Protestants and Anglicans were the majority there, and there was an established Anglican Church like the Congregational one in New England, which was also tax-supported. In spite of this, North Carolina colonists were not taxed in support of the church. The restrictions in the South were not as rigid and harsh as New England though, and there were almost no groups of Puritans, but other religious sects in the South felt free to worship however they wanted. The Catholics were mostly the only ones persecuted. On the other hand, in Maryland where the majority of settlers were Catholics, they did not deal with discrimination. Maryland had complete religious freedom for all Christians, but none for Jews, atheists, and those who denied the divinity of Jesus. Nevertheless, Maryland was the one place of refuge for Catholics as they were persecuted for the most part, everywhere else in the