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How Did Religion Affect Colonial America

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Mahdi Farshchian period:5-6 The effect of religion on the colonial period
Like the Pilgrims, Puritans were English Protestants who believed that they had the right to have freedom of religion. In 1630, the Puritans left England and sailed to America 10 years after the Pilgrims to start their own government in the new world. Puritans believed in strict Protestantism and they thought the Church of England did not go far enough. The king of England was pushing the state church to be the official Church of England but the Puritans didn't agree with that. The Puritans were religious extremists who believed they were chosen to be the saviors of the world by bringing Christianity to others, which they did by enforcing their religion on others and …show more content…

Their government was a blend of theocracy and modern democracy. They wanted to build a government in which church and government had the same power: “In the creation of their colony the Puritans wished to be sure that the same sort of situation where the church was dominated by the government would not occur in their colony as it had in England, however at the same time they wished to create a ‘city upon a hill’” (The Puritans: Church and State).Puritans wanted to create a city that everyone else in the world looks up to.The colonial law provided some basic laws that let people elect their leaders only if they were a member of the church. All the members of the government had to attend church and pay their taxes to the church. Although the government and the church were separated, they worked closely to make sure the laws were adhered to. This is because, “Puritans wanted to become a model for the Christian world to form itself after and that in this desire for such a Christian model the Puritans would need a powerful church and clergy” (The Puritans: Church and State).Puritans wanted to have a government that worked closely with the church and for both to have the same amount of control but the church became more powerful than the government.This can be related to the fact that each government associate had to pay their taxes to the church and if someone wasn't a member of the church or didn't believe in Protestantism, they couldn't vote for their leaders even if they lived in the

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The New England colonies settled because they wanted to have religious freedom which was the most important factor to the colonists. The people that made up these colonies just wanted a place to have freedom to worship. However, The New England colonies developed different from the colonies in the Chesapeake. Jamestown and New England had different economies, government and demographic make-up of the population. It was important for the New England colonies to have religious freedom.

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Liberty was the key issue for the Puritans. It was liberty, or the lack of, that pushed men to find safe haven, and it was freedom that enticed them to create a new society that never put state and the church hand in hand. By having a taste of liberty, they were introduced to ideas of equality and democracy which became an important part of the community they built and to the future nation that they will create. The foundation of Puritan principles such as piety, democracy and republican freedom, spread its influence over all the colonies, enlightening the “whole American world”.

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2.They believed that the common man was incapable of voting wisely. B. Puritans also wanted government control with the church. Local congregations could hire or fire their local pastor as they chose, Trouble in the Bible Commonwealth Tension comes to Massachusetts. 1.Quakers questioned Puritan authority and were punished.

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The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay colony had originally planned for a government that was to be ruled by God 's laws, however over time the colony would become democratically ruled. Rather than living under a democratic society, John Winthrop, along with other stockholding members, preferred to have the Puritan settlement be run by “godly rule” (9) . The original intention of the Massachusetts Bay colony was to set a model of an uncorrupted church and godly society (12) which would in turn help those in England see God 's will and be saved by it (13) . The Puritans, however did believe in the separation of church and state, but this did not mean a separation of the state from God. Despite the idea of separation, the government still

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They wanted to create pure, moral Christian society based on moral living. By hard working, integration of religion in politics, and social development of certain lifestyle practices, Puritans had a large influence on the development of the New England colonies from 1630s through the 1660s. Puritans believed in hard work as the pathway of success since they thought they were favored by God to succeed (Doc I). They tried to shun idleness and believed that being lazy is not profitable (Doc C).

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However, they were never successful in doing so. In nearly all of colonial America, there was some religious intolerance, with the exception of few colonial areas. In a quite ironic manner, the Puritans displayed and acted out much religious intolerance, even after facing much scrutiny concerning their religion, in England. This statement is proven, when “Puritan New England: Kahn Academy”, mentions “Although many people assume Puritans escaped England to establish religious freedom, they proved to be just as intolerant as the English state church.” The main and pretty much only, exception, would in this case be Rhode Island, seeing as though it was founded by former Puritan Roger Williams, who had been banned from the colony (in opposition to being executed), as a result of the questioning of their actions towards local Native American tribes, he decided to create Rhode Island, as a place of refuge for those seeking religious tolerance, or who had simply been banned from the previous colony they had resided

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Religion had a role in every part of the region whether it be big or small. Another time when religion had impacted a colony or country was when Henry VIII had impacted Europe by creating an unstable connection between the church. He cut his connection with the church in order to divorce his wife Catherine. Now at this point in time whoever was the ruler of England would be able to change the main religion. This caused rebellions between religions on which is more important and which should be the main religion of England.

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Freedom to Prosecute Religion Colonial America is often thought of as a safe haven from religious persecution. Future colonists had been persecuted for not accepting their countries ' religious doctrine and were willing to travel long distances in search of religious freedom. Religious freedom would still be far from grasp as Puritans would continue their homelands traditions of persecution for many more years. Puritans, unlike the Pilgrims (who sought to completely separate from the Church of England), wanted to purify the Church.

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Eventually Winthrop knew that he had to live in the world without taking his mind off of God. He guided the colonists with his ideas to build a godly commonwealth. It had to be remembered that sin was all around them and could not be escaped. They strictly enforce rules to prevent people from sinning. The Puritans did not want to anger God just like England did with their system of churches.

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Religion played a great role in the establishment of the English colonies. The main reason the English traveled to North America was to escape religious persecution. Once the English settled in they created colonies, and established rules for a religious society. They would also try to convert Natives into Christianity, and they established universities to practice ministry. Once the English settlers got to North America, the House of Burgesses in 1619 said they would try to convert Native children specifically boys into a “ true religion”, then eventually teach them how teach them how to be Christian civil people.

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New England’s economy would also be influenced by the British tax later that would cause Americans to revolt many of which trusted in their faith to guide them The Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 were also motivated by religious beliefs. They believed in the idea of a "city upon a hill," a vision of a holy community that would serve as an example to the rest of the world (American YAWP, 2.6). This belief led to a strict social order and a commitment to the moral and spiritual purity of the community. It also led to conflicts with other religious groups, such as the Quakers, who were seen as a threat to the Puritan social order.

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The Puritans were a group of English Reformed Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who broke away and sought to "purify" the Church of England from its "Catholic" practices because they thought that the Church of England was only partially reformed.

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Religion was a flourishing entity among society and politics both in Colonial America and Great Britain. It gave way to righteousness for a certain cause at that time or a way to assure leadership was valid among citizens of that particular country most commonly amid the Monarch rule over Great Britain and and later Parliament. Religion had a great power of influence over the people and the way they thought about the future of their country, in particular, Colonial America and the justification of the American Revolution against England. Regarding documents from key revolutionary figures and Sermons both hailing and denouncing the Revolution, and the ideas Americans had as religion being a rationale of their pursuits, only then can religion

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Their religion was strict. The Puritans did not believe in pleasures, they were modest in their religion and lifestyle and disliked any religion that was not their own (“Puritans”). The Puritans wanted to establish a pure church. As a result of this they experienced religious persecution. People that lived on land that was inhabited by the Puritans could only practice the Puritan religion (“ Puritans”).

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Essentially, Puritans are expected to follow a strict set of religious and moral guidelines from which their actions and morality are derived. According to Hall’s A Reforming People, these moral expectations first introduced by the pilgrims were the driving force behind the power that the Puritan ministry had over society: “Ministers and laypeople looked first to congregations as the place where love, mutuality, and righteousness would flourish, and second to civil society. …Alongside love, mutuality, and righteousness they placed another set of values summed up in the word “equity.” Employed in a broad array of contexts, the concept of equity conveyed the colonists’ hopes for justice and fairness in their social world.”

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