Faith In Colonial America

The balance between individual’s rights (more specifically freedom of religion and belief), local and national government are essential to America today. The colonies were heavily religious in the elementary stages of this country. Faith has influenced the migration to this country, the relationships between the European settlers and the Native Americans, and the establishment of America. Colonial culture laid the groundwork for America. Faith continues to be a huge part of American culture today.

There’s no doubt America was built by migrates. One of the main reasons people migrated to this land was for religious freedom. For example, the puritans wanted freedom from the Church of England. The Plymouth Planation was one of the first settlements

In the 17th and 18th century though other Christian denominations grew in popularity like the Unitarians, Methodists. Although, collectively the colonies were Christian, they did not live in harmony with one another. The different Christian groups felt that they had more to offer than the next. Heavy handed governing and exclusivity was essential to the survival of the first colonies. If someone was suspected of not following the dominate faith in the area he or she could be persecuted (Wiewora). Their local governments’ set forth to regulate even the minutest parts of life. Like, in when the puritans migrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony there was a law that regulated which kind to lace was acceptable. That was because the settlers realized that there was a lot at stake and that they could afford to have anyone stray away from the status quo even if that meant regulating every aspect of their lives. Everyone had to have faith not only in each other, the mission, and in

Insuring basic human freedoms to its citizens. They made it a point not to mention God in the US Constitution. It’s no coincidence that there Ten Commandments in the Bible and that the Bill of Rights is made up of the first ten amendments on the US Constitution (Plait). The first amendment in the Bill of Rights provides individual rights. It gives people the freedom of religion and belief, in addition the right to free speech and press. This not only gives the people the right to believe (or not believe) but the right to express their religion however they see fit. (ACLU). The founding fathers understood that one’s religious views governs a lot of their decisions and by giving people the right to express their faith-they were in turn insuring that their citizens were going to be moral sound. President George Washington stated in his Farewell Address that “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to a political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim that tribute of