Religion In Colonial America Essay

Religious ideas played a central role in the way people understood and reacted to the world around them in colonial America. The colonies were founded by various religious groups seeking freedom to practice their faith without persecution. Religion influenced many aspects of colonial people's daily life, from politics and social order to economic practices and daily life. Religious ideas were not only important but often the cause of antagonism and violence in colonial America.

One example of religious antagonism in colonial America can be seen in the Salem witch trials of 1692 (American YAWP, 3.5). The trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials were largely driven

The war was between Wampanoag and Puritans, which led to the end of Native American power in New England.

Religion also influenced economic practices in colonial America. The Puritans believed in the idea of a "calling," the belief that God had given each person a specific role in society (American YAWP, 2.6). This belief led to a strong work ethic and an emphasis on industry. It also contributed to the development of the New England economy, which was based on trade, fishing, and agriculture. 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. This example of non-religious tolerance was one of the ideas that was lost from the founding of the colonies that started in Jamestown but were found again at the start of the

In New Netherland (later New York), for example, the Dutch Reformed Church was the established religion, but a growing number of English-speaking Protestants challenged its authority. These English Protestants were often merchants and traders who saw the Dutch monopoly on trade as a barrier to their economic success (American YAWP, 2.3). There were also the marriages between the Christianized African Americans who married and became the African Dutch which gave way to another set of rising tensions. Many of the New Netherlanders protested the enslavement of these people, and these social issues overtook the Dutch’s main goal of economic