Religious Intolerance In Early America
Religious Intolerance In Early America It is common belief that America was founded and built as a haven for victims of religious persecution from all across Europe. In the early years, our country saw Puritans, Quakers, Baptists, Catholics, Jews, and others flee from Europe in hope of religious tolerance in a land that would be unbiased and impartial towards their respective religions. Did every religion find this highly coveted "religious tolerance"? The answer, in my opinion, is no. America, originally viewed as a prospective religiously free land by persecuted Europeans, did not convey an attitude of religious freedom in the 1600's and 1700's. In reality, most religious sects in America's early years were entirely intole
Each religion essentially wanted a place where they could practice their own religion, impose it on others, and punish those who did not see religion in the same light. One such incident of religious intolerance took place in 1635 when the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, they themselves having been victims of persecution in England, banished Reverend Roger Williams from the colony for disagreeing with the Puritan Church over relations with the Church of England and the right of political authorities to coerce religious dissenters. It is my opinion that America, said to be founded as a religious haven, was actually not a religious haven at all, but rather a place where the religiously persecuted came to practice preach own beliefs and essentially proselytize the colonies. This Act punished colonists with opposing views by death, confiscation of land or goods, or issuing of fines. Maryland, a Catholic -founded colony, passed the Act of Religious Toleration on April 21, 1649, making it one of the most religiously intolerant colonies. This type of double standard was commonplace among the Puritans and other religious groups during this time period. rant of open-minded thinking and religious views contradicting their own. Deeply offended, colony officials brought her to trial and banished her from the colony. It finally took the War for Independence in the late 1700's to join the colonies together under one cause, thus easing religious tension and forming the religiously free country that we live in today. Although Puritans were one of the most religiously intolerant groups in early America, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was not the only place where persecution took place. The trial of Anne Hutchinson is another prime example of a Puritan attempt to force their religious ideas upon others and punish those who refused to agree. Hutchinson suggested that the concept of dependence of salvation on God's free gift versus dependence on worthy and pious deeds, the original separating belief between Protestants and Catholics, had been lost sight of by Massachusetts Bay Colony leaders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**. The Puritans, it seems were setting a double standard after leaving England because of religious intolerance and persecution resulting from their attempts to "purify" the Church of England. She was also accused of having unsanctioned meetings in her home, thus sowing discord among the members of the colony.
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