Transcript
Established Churches in the Colonies and Religious Diversity Each American colony developed uniquely in terms of religion. Most of the colonies created established churches–or churches run by tax money–but not all the established churches were the same denominations. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire established Congregationalists churches, after the tradition of the Puritans. Virginia and the Carolinas established the Anglican Church, also known as the Church of England. New York, Maryland, New Jersey and Georgia each had established churches, but which faith tradition ran the established church changed over time. Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Delaware never had established churches. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, an English Quaker who created a haven for Quakers and others who were religiously persecuted. Rhode Island was founded by a radical Puritan turned Baptist preacher, Roger Williams, who believed in an extreme version of freedom of conscience, allowing anyone to worship as their mind and heart led them to do. Strong Jewish communities thrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Newport, Rhode Island because these colonies respected religious diversity.
In the 1730s and 1740s, the Great Awakening transformed the American religious landscape, swelling the ranks of religious communities such as Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians who lived throughout the colonies and did not belong to established churches. The Great Awakening was a religious movement that emphasized the importance of the individual spiritual experience and deemphasized the power of church authority and doctrine. As religious diversity in each of the colonies grew, the English Act of Toleration from 50 years before began to be periodically applied in the colonies. This law made it so dissenters–those who chose to worship outside of the established church–were allowed to gather in meetings, but they were still required to pay taxes to support the established church and were often persecuted for being different.
