-
Religious Requirements for Voting
Only free adult men who owned a certain amount of land and were part of the state church were allowed to vote. As time went on, the restrictions slowly loosened and there were no religious qualifications, only property ones. -
The Pilgrims
The Pilgrims were a group of Separatists who traveled to the New World in search of a better life without religious persecution in the early 1600s. They established Plymouth Colony and celebrated the first Thanksgiving. -
The Puritans
The Puritans were another major Protestant group that wanted to “purify” the Church of England. When they immigrated to the New World, they brought their religiously intolerant attitudes and beliefs with them. -
Maryland - The Catholic Experiment
Lord Baltimore founded Maryland in hopes of providing Catholics a safe haven away from persecution. Unfortunately, people came there for economic opportunities and before long, the Catholics became a minority, thus the failure of the Catholic experiment. -
More Dissent in Massachusetts Bay
William Rogers believed in religious freedom and thought people should be able to practice any religion they wish. For this reason, he founded Rhode Island and gave freedom of religion. -
Dissent in the Massachusetts Bay
Anne Hutchison spoke up against the Church and shared her views with the people in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Anne Hutchison thought that the ministers had lost their way and that their methods conflicted with the doctrine of predestination. She was later banished from Massachusetts for her actions. -
Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Quakers in England had suffered serious persecution for their beliefs. They believed in equality and they didn’t bow down to noblemen if they saw them as unfit. After William Penn was given Pennsylvania, he created a safe haven for Quakers and soon other religions joined them. -
The First Great Awakening
It was the revitalization of religious feeling that swept through the American colonies during the 1730s and the 1770s. During the time, George Whitefield was a very important preacher who led a movement to reform the Church of England and created the Methodist Church in the late 18th century. -
Virginia Statutes for Religious Freedom
It was an addition to the Virginia Bill of Rights and protected free exercise of religion and prohibited the establishment of one religion. It cut ties between the government and religion.
