Religious Ideas in Colonial America

1. Religious Ideas in Colonial America B.B.

2. Persecution in England In England, religious beliefs other than that of the king were punished for their beliefs. Many English citizens were traveling to America to seek religious freedom. The English settlers wanted to create a church where there was no obligation; freedom of religion. Colonists wanted to make a church unlike that of England. Church Sunday Service

3. Puritanism Puritan gathering New England was dominantly Puritan, making up 70% of the population. The Puritans believed that only the chosen were blessed with the grace of God. They believed in predestination, that all events are known by God. Puritans publicly supported schools to “oppose Satan,” so the construction of the local college, Harvard, had their support. Although the Puritans wanted to live like the way of God, they often persecuted and killed Quakers for their preaching of inner light. Harvard college Puritans vs. Royalists

4. Quakers The Quakers started as a small group that fled to Holland to escape from persecution in England. There they boarded on the Mayflower and sailed to America. This group of people dispersed into small, scattered groups inside the country. A man named George Fox was traveling around the country spreading his religious ideas and beliefs. On his way, he stopped at a town called Lancashire. During his stop, he climbed a hill where he saw a widespread view of the farmlands. This inspired an insight which told him to create a district where he would meet with groups of interested people. They used Swarthmore Hall which was the meeting place up until George Fox’s death. George Fox

5. Other Religions The practices of Quakers and Puritans were accepted by majority of the population. These religions were the basis of many new religions to come from the colonial period such as Baptists and Anglicans, while many old religions like Catholicism and Jewish were all accepted in the colonies. Despite the creation of these new beliefs, some colonists stayed with the Church of England, believing that it was the correct way of worship. Even though religion was the core foundation of a citizen’s daily life, colonists kept church and state separate. Jesus’ Crucifixion Baptism

6. Salem Witch Trials In the small, rural town of Salem, a group of adolescent girls began displaying unusual symptoms which alarmed the parents who thought it as a result of witchcraft. When the girls were questioned, they named several of their neighbors which then grew to a larger scale of people. The numbers of accused began escalating until the local jails were over-crowded with too many suspects. At the end of the “hysteria” 20 people had been executed for witchcraft. Witchcraft was treated as a capital crime in America, as well as Europe. Salem Witchcraft Victim’s Memorial