Religious Freedom: The Main Reason Why The Colony's Went To The New World

In current day America, citizens either take their freedom lightly or believe they have no freedom at all. However, our ancestors thought differently in the past. The English colonist came to the New World for a number of reasons. Many came to the New World to escape bad marriages, jail terms, but many historian believe that many came to either get out of poverty or the fear of them falling into poverty. According to Brands, “Religion was a big reason for the English to come across the Atlantic”. The first colony was Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, which was not successful. After the first colony was established many more were established like New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and etc..

Religious freedom was one of the main causes for English peoples to move to the New World. They escaped from the de-catholicization of the Church of England in order to believe in what they wanted to belive in. The government once again did not pay any heed to set an official religious set of rules in the colonies, therefore allowing the people to

In 1682, Pennsylvania, the twelfth British colony, was formed. This colony, like the eleven others already founded, was instituted with a comparable style of government and its own questionable religious prejudices. Throughout the colonies, levels of religious understanding fluctuated, apart from a few exemptions. For example, the Middle Colonies had a great deal of open-mindedness when it came to religion, whereas New England had a scarce amount, if any toleration for religious independence at all.

All the British colonies allowed the practice of many religions, but there were some colonies that only allowed it to a certain extent. An example would be Massachusetts, who allowed religious freedom, but only to the Puritans. They did not allow others to practice any other religion, and if they did, they were prosecuted. Rhode Island and Pennsylvania were the only two colonies that allowed religious freedom to the fullest extent. They believed people should be able to practice their own religion. The New England Colonies, except for Rhode Island, were all strict of religious freedom. The Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies had a mix of religions from Jews, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans, and others.

During the 17th and 18th century, English residents felt that England was over-crowded and intolerable. They wanted to lessen these problems that rose up because of the large population increase and to establish more religious freedom (Horn). The English believed that the best way to go about this was to colonize the New World. Subsequently, many colonies began to develop, and of these colonies, Massachusetts Bay and Virginia were the most well-known. The early settlements of Massachusetts and Virginia were both established by similar groups of people at the same time; furthermore, their contrasting beginnings as a colony, views on religion, and method of economic stability all contributed to our American heritage today.

The colonists as we know came to the New World to start a better life in a new place. However, it was later proven that they wanted to make money in all sorts of things and ways and they also wanted to practice their religion away from anyone else. Therefore, it is clear to say that the colonists came to the New World to make money and practice their own religion.

Throughout history, a variety of religions have came and gone due to dislike and uncomfort. Before 1492, a majority of Europe was a part of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church controlled every aspect of a human’s life, for example: education, social status, and family matters. In 1517, Martin Luther had created the Protestant Reformation, which limited the power of the Catholic Church. Europe was now religiously divided, which created a larger diversity of religion to the colonies. Reasons such as Henry VIII decisions with the Catholic Church, English immigrants, and religious groups affected the relationship between religion and the colonies.

1647 to 1776 was a time of growth in America, during this time colonist emigrated from Europe to America for several reasons, such as the hope to find relief from the war and rebellion occupying Europe, the chance to find bigger farms to make money, and most of all the chance to have religious freedom (“The Thirteen American Colonies” n.d.). Religious freedom was a very important part of the colonists’ lives and culture. According to “Religion and the Founding of the American Republic”, between 1700 and 1740, an estimated 75 to 80 percent of the population attended churches, which were being built at a headlong pace.

Colonial America, as a whole, was a self-governed, religiously tolerant, protestant area. The colonies became self-governed over time. Originally, most came to America to break free from the Catholic church, but as  England loosened its reigns with the English civil war and other distractions, the people of the colonies made their own documents and democracies. Though some were Catholic, most people were some form of Protestant. In the different regions, religious toleration varied to what religions were acceptable and which were not, but it was an overall concept that most approved.

It is a fairly well known fact that the colonization of the New World in general, and more specifically, what would become eventually become the United States of America, was heavily based upon commercial endeavors. However, it was also heavily influenced by the desire of people to possess and preserve religious independence. Placing the potential for commercial success aside and focusing on the religious aspects of colonization, the proliferation of various religions over the course of colonial history is quite extensive and, by proxy, its’ influence upon developing colonial societies was far-reaching. Because of the historical significance of many different religions throughout the colonies, it would also suggest that religious diversity was likely equally impactful in eliciting change. All of this leads this author to speculate about how much influence religion had upon colonial upheaval over time and whether or not the ensuing dissent was a major factor in the lead up to The French and Indian War and eventual revolution of the American colonies. To uncover the significance and role religion played in the American colonies, a number of different articles were reviewed, each representing different perspectives, points of view, and empirical evidence about religion in colonial America.

First, I think that the colonists’ religion had to do with the Salem Witch trials. In the 1690s, the people who immigrated into Salem were all puritans. They had only reason they had all moved to Salem was to practice Christianity in a purer way because the puritans did not agree with how it was practiced in England. As you can see, these people took religion very seriously and made sure everything was done as a pope or the Bible said. When they first started hearing about all of the rumors about witches in their

In the early 1600s, colonies such as Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maryland, were built on various religious principles. In addition to the colonist focus on gaining their independence and having the freedom to live as they chose; away for England 's ruling. However, religion was a major battle for those upcoming settlements. Many had their own perception of what they thought was the truth about the Bible and if anyone opposed their belief, harm was due to them.

A plan for some of the colonists moving to the New World was freedom of religion, such as the quakers (located in Pennsylvania) and pilgrims believed in the freedom of living off of your own specific religion. The puritans on the other hand, settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 , identified themselves as God’s chosen pure angels because of their belief that they were born saved into the world. They would also turn a blind eye to other denominations and focused on their church to be an Angelic Catholic Church specifically. Which of course if you know anything about their “home” back in Europe. That is their “main” denomination over in Britain and they do required everyone to believe in. The puritans brought over their beliefs from England not trying to make it into their own. For example in England they created various religious laws, that were put into place over from England but now the laws transferred into

Although William Penn was sent to jail because of his beliefs, he played a part in creating the key principals of religious toleration and he also put his ideas into real world practice in a colony he created, which is now known as Pennsylvania. Penn’s colony played a key role in the creation of the First Amendment. There are two parts to the first and most important Amendment, the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, both of which allow citizens to practice a religion of their choice instead of going to a state church against their will. Penn was one of the first people to support religious freedom and he made a colony where people could practice a

There were various motivations for establishing colonies in the New World. From the perspective of the settlers, one could conclude there were two primary motivations, religious freedom, and wealth. Depending upon one’s status in the colonial times, one could consider wealth as having an abundance of land and natural resources, not necessarily power or an abundance of gold per say. Therefore, the poor, rich, and middle class had their own expectations of “wealth” and religious freedom that motivated establishing the colonies. Similarly, the European powers that were sending supplies and funding the colonial establishments were driven to expand their wealth and impose their religious principles.