Religious Freedom in the New World

Authors Avatar by adamryoti (student)

        One of the reasons that people chose to go to the New World was to gain religious freedom. With this new found freedom they could experiment with any religion of their choice. Religious freedom was one of the most important benefits of being a member of certain colonies such as: Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania, where some had truer freedom than others, seen by local government.

        The Massachusetts Bay colony was founded by the owners of the Massachusetts Bay Company. The majority of the population was Puritan, their government was mainly run by a small group of Puritans. Although the governors were elected the voters were limited to freemen, who had been examined for their religious views and formally admitted to their church. As a result of this, the colonial leadership demonstrated intolerance to other religions, including: Anglican, Quaker, and Baptist. Although the colonists initially had decent relationships with the local natives, conflicts surface over cultural differences. These led first to the Pequot War (1636–1638), and then to King Philip’s War (1675–1676), after which most of the natives in southern New England had been either pacified, killed, or ran off. Not only did the colonists chase off natives, they also banned and exiled others who didn’t agree with their religious beliefs.

Join now!

        Founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a theologian, independent preacher, linguist and exile of the Massachusetts Bay colony, agreed with his fellow settlers on an impartial constitution providing majority rule. Following the 1660 restoration in royal rule in England, it was essential to gain a royal charter from the new king, Charles II. Charles was then a Catholic advocate in a strictly Protestant England. He approved the colony's promise of religious freedom, and granted the request with the Royal Charter of 1663. Which gave the Colony of Rhode Island an elected governor and legislature. In the following years many victimized ...

This is a preview of the whole essay