People settled in the American colonies for the desire for religious freedom.
...pay a fine, go to jail o even be killed. However, the people of the land disagreed with the Doctrines and practices of the Church of England. These people were known as dissenters which made up of Roman Catholics, Puritans, Separatists, Presbyterians, Quakers and Baptists. All of the groups had their own way to worship and felt the others were wrong. While this was going on the Baptist decided they did not like it so they left. Along with them were the others who wanted to settle in the New World so that they could worship anyway they pleased. In the Massachusetts Bay colony, no other church was able to be established but the Congretional Church. To hold office during this time you had to be apart of the church. All members had to also conform to the teachings of the clergy. Those who opposed settled in Rhode Island, again they wanted to be able to worship without persecution. While this was going on Roger Williams an ordained minister expressed his feelings of the combining of church and state. The colonial leaders did not agree with him so they had him banished him in 1635. Williams founded a town called Providence where those seeking religious toleration settled. In New York, the population grew steadily because of the colony’s religious toleration. German Lutherans, French Huguenots, Portuguese Jews and English Puritans settled in the colony to be free from the religious persecution in their homeland. In Pennsylvania, it was the land for the Quakers. Because of their beliefs the Quakers in the 17th century were subject to imprisonment and heavy fines. Therefore, a solution that would be good was to have a Quaker colony. William Penn was a Quaker who established Pennsylvania. The Quakers believed there should not be any outward expressions of worship such as church services. Penn said there would be no church in the colony but everyone had complete religious freedom and the people were happy. In the Middle colonies the population was diverse as well as the religions that people practiced. There were many different churches and religions that existed. There was the Anglicans, Quakers, Jews, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Mennonites, Pietists, English Congregationalists, Baptists and members of the Dutch and German Reformed Church that were in the colonies. All of the people got along and decided to worship without the oth...