Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland are three of the colonies founded to provide religious freedom. Massachusetts is not.
Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams after being convicted of sedition and heresy by the Massachusetts General Court in 1635 and banished from the Massachusetts colony. Williams was raised an Anglican but converted to Puritanism as a young man. Soon after arriving in Massachusetts, he voiced the heretical opinions that church and state should be separated (in Massachusetts, as in England, the two were entwined) and that every person should be free to follow his own religious convictions. Upon being banished, he headed south and founded Providence Plantation on land he bought from the local Native Americans. In 1637, the Massachusetts General Court exiled Anne Hutchinson and her followers, the Antinomians, and Williams helped them settle near to him. From the beginning, the colony was governed in civil matters by majority vote of the heads of households, and in religious matters by the principle of liberty of conscience. The colony became a haven for many who were persecuted for their beliefs including Baptists, Quakers, and Jews.
Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn to provide a place where he and his fellow Quakers could practice their religion without persecution. Although not as tolerant of religious freedom as Rhode Island, Pennsylvania allowed religious freedom to all monotheists, including Jews, and allowed all Christians, not just Quakers, to hold government office.
Maryland was founded in part by the Calvert family as a refuge for English Catholics like themselves and also other Christians who did not conform to the Anglican religion that was the state religion of Britain. In 1649, the assembly of the Maryland Colony passed the Maryland Toleration Act, granting religious tolerance for trinitarian Christians (those who believe in the trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.