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How Did Religion Affect Colonial America

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Mahdi Farshchian period:5-6 The effect of religion on the colonial period
Like the Pilgrims, Puritans were English Protestants who believed that they had the right to have freedom of religion. In 1630, the Puritans left England and sailed to America 10 years after the Pilgrims to start their own government in the new world. Puritans believed in strict Protestantism and they thought the Church of England did not go far enough. The king of England was pushing the state church to be the official Church of England but the Puritans didn't agree with that. The Puritans were religious extremists who believed they were chosen to be the saviors of the world by bringing Christianity to others, which they did by enforcing their religion on others and …show more content…

Their government was a blend of theocracy and modern democracy. They wanted to build a government in which church and government had the same power: “In the creation of their colony the Puritans wished to be sure that the same sort of situation where the church was dominated by the government would not occur in their colony as it had in England, however at the same time they wished to create a ‘city upon a hill’” (The Puritans: Church and State).Puritans wanted to create a city that everyone else in the world looks up to.The colonial law provided some basic laws that let people elect their leaders only if they were a member of the church. All the members of the government had to attend church and pay their taxes to the church. Although the government and the church were separated, they worked closely to make sure the laws were adhered to. This is because, “Puritans wanted to become a model for the Christian world to form itself after and that in this desire for such a Christian model the Puritans would need a powerful church and clergy” (The Puritans: Church and State).Puritans wanted to have a government that worked closely with the church and for both to have the same amount of control but the church became more powerful than the government.This can be related to the fact that each government associate had to pay their taxes to the church and if someone wasn't a member of the church or didn't believe in Protestantism, they couldn't vote for their leaders even if they lived in the

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