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Religion in british colonies
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England never had proper control over its colonies. Many immigrants left England knowing that the nation 's power within the colonies was virtually nonexistent. It could be argued that England appointed governors and passed laws before 1763 in an attempt to control its colonies, but it is known that colonists largely undermined these efforts and found ways to circumvent the generally unenforced legislation. The colonies had been deciding their own laws and faith since they had arrived on the foreign continent, because of how accustomed the Americans became to home rule, they would not let England take their right from them.
Chapter 3 outline The colonies began to change very fast from religious differences, trade, and the development of the first republic. The Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism 1517, Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his “95 Theses” on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. He said the Bible was the only source of communication from God.
Within Maryland, Protestant opposition to the Catholic proprietor led to open conflict on several occasions, while the Toleration Act was an attempt to prevent it. Puritans in Massachusetts created a society guided by religious requirements and sought to stamp out religious dissent. Suppression of colonists like Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson led to the creation of Rhode Island, a colony that, in contrast to Massachusetts, permitted freedom of religion. The Massachusetts colonists did not face nearly as many hardships as the Jamestown and Plymouth settlers before them did. The colonists had taken careful steps to prepare for their venture, and they also received a constant flow of new settlers, which helped replenish supplies and helped the colony grow.
Catholic’s in Maryland would be the smallest group throughout the colonies. There was only about 3,000 Catholics out of 25,000 people in Maryland. The Catholic religion would exercise their faith a lot in Maryland. The Catholics in Maryland would not listen or follow the Liberty of Conscience statement, so they would just pretend that they accepted it and would move on. Catholics in this area would think that the statement was unlawful.
For example, the Virginia Statute of Religious Liberty was a law that was basically about how no one could be forced to worship,enforced, restrained, molested, place or ministry whatsoever, or burdened in his body. That all men can practice who/what they want. “Be it enacted by the General Assembly,that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief…. All men shall be free to profess… their opinion in matters of religion.” Virginia Statute of Religious Liberty, 1786
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.
The colonists wanted religious freedom. One reason they originally left England was to escape the Catholic Church. Some called themselves Puritans. They wanted the church and the state to be more separate.
New England’s founders were strict Puritans who did not have much tolerance for any religion except their own. Over time, as more and more immigrants came with increasingly diverse beliefs, the once stable foundation began to crack. Conflicts broke out and certain religious groups were banished which led to the development of other nearby colonies, for example Rhode Island and Connecticut. In the Chesapeake region, it was easier and there was not as much controversy over religion. The area started out as a refuge for Catholics, but over time many Protestants immigrated there and soon became the majority.
The New Englanders took religion seriously, making unitary laws according to Puritan standards. John Winthrop, later chosen as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor, was seeking religious freedom. Wishing to inspire the colonists to dwell in brotherly unity, he summoned them together to remind them “that if we [colonists] shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” On the other hand, those in the Chesapeake region came for the wealth that America promised. They were there to become prosperous or die trying.
The Religious Freedom policy also influenced the colonies and the formation of the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson from the colony of Virginia was the primary architect of his state’s religious freedom model. In Britain, there was limited religious freedom through an established church known as the Church of England. A portion of taxes would go to the official state religion even if you were not a member of that church. In Virginia, they decide on freedom to exercise which, the other colonies and Britain had to some extent but they took the extra step and said that government should "not establish religion" so no government taxes for any religious groups.
Democracy, in short, is a government for the people, ran by the people. Democratic ideals refer to standards and persons who look to not only expand democracy, but expand it to the whole of the population. Democracy was the keystone to the budding America; it was what set her apart from other nations. However, citizens looked to improve the coverage and quality of democracy. Throughout the early 1800s to around 1850, reform movements began to sweep the nation.
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.
Religious freedom and toleration in the English North American colonies provided little room for those who did not practice the exact same form of government and religion. Although a similarity to America today is that the Puritan "court" provided a ruling to determine the punishment of an individual, however, the similarities stop there. When people came outright to declare their individual practices, such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, they were denounced and, in certain cases, sent into
New England was driven by a strict set of religious values in the 1600s. This is made abundantly clear by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his novel, The Scarlet Letter, set in 17th century Massachusetts. At the time law and religion were virtually one and the same. The Puritans who settled the region essentially codified their rigid beliefs. Committing an act that went against this harsh moral code could result in not only prosecution, but cruel social punishment as well.
The English Monarch, at the time, wanted power over religion and sought total control. With this goal, practicing other religions, outside the Church of England, punishable by law. Many English wasted to continue practicing their religions, and America offered the potential to do so without the threat of English law. B. Describe the economic systems, social characteristics and political systems of the following colonies.
