Religious Freedom

Free Response Question

Religious freedom was always a struggle for the early inhabitants of the New world, they even moved an entire world away just to achieve it. When Martin Luther decided to nail those ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, little did he know he would make such an impact on the rest of the world for years to come. That was the beginning of the protestant reformation as well as puritanism. An adding catalyst in wanting to acquire religious liberty was when King Charles I dismissed parliament which led to much distress and many puritans left the country as a result. Another reason many people came to the new world was for God, gold, and glory.

Due to the protestant reformation and the creation of puritanism it sparked a beginning of a spiritual energy that would inspire many people to go forth into the new world to seek religious freedom. In England the puritans were being suppressed by the Catholic Church. The puritans did not agree with how the Catholic Church operated. The puritans also thought that the church of England had too many characteristics that were similar to the catholic church. They sought to reform it from within. The puritans left to go to the new world and create “a city upon a hill”. This basically means they left to go and be an example of how real Godly people should behave.

When Charles the first of England came into power he did away with parliament, which did not go well with the puritans because parliament consisted of a lot of puritans. Having someone who did not share their beliefs created a hostile religious and political environment, so the puritans being put through constant religious turmoil decided they had enough. They adopted calvinism which focused more on preaching and less on rituals which is what the roman catholic church was based around and they set off to find their own safe haven. From 1620 to about 1643 what was known as the great migration led about 20,000 to migrate to different destinations. The puritans which built a tight-knit religion fled from England to the Americas in hopes to finally be religiously free to practice their faith in peace, and received that when Roger Williams was banished to Rhode Island and he founded the Rhode Island Colony which then turned into the puritans new haven.

The residents of England were leaving in search of religious freedom (which the new world provided) as well as gold, and glory. Some wanted religious freedom, others wanted to spread the word, or provide a safe haven for those also receiving persecution. Most of the individuals that made their way to the new world were most likely victims of the primogeniture law. Meaning they inherited nothing (because they were not the eldest) so they came to the new world in search gold, glory, and God.

In conclusion, the England colonies did extend and advance religious liberty pretty far by the 1700s.It seems that mo matter who or what was placed in front of the religious proprietors and seekers they still managed to pull through and somehow find a way to practice their faith. By the 17th century the puritans and separatists already somewhat had a place where they were free and had their own rules and rituals or traditions. They fled from all the oppression and persecution to a better place all of these ultimately led to the advancement of religious freedom.. And all this was accomplished through many circumstances which includes the protestant reformation, the great migration, and the seeking of gold, gold, and glory.