Colonial Religions

Everyone knows the story of the Puritans in England, how they were harassed and driven out by the English king, how they fled to the New World so that they could have religious freedom. They arrived in American in October, in 1620. Their first winter killed off more than half of them, but they stayed. They were convinced that they were there by God's will.

Throughout America's history, even before it was settled, there has been a large amount of religious diversity. The Native American tribes, as they spanned across North America, had many different beliefs and ways of adapting to the land. When the settlers arrived, they brought more beliefs and diversity. Unfortunately, they also murdered more than 90% of all Natives, leaving the world's children today with little more than whispers of what once was, and what could have been.

The one thing all European settlers agreed on was the separation of church and state. The English had had enough of being ruled by their king and paid clergy. Although it may have taken a few years, by 1775, freedom to worship or not worship as you choose was granted across the colonies to the citizens. In fact, by 1775, only 74% of the population (not counting slaves or Native Americans) held membership in a church.

How was it split up?

* Congregationalists made up 575,000 people in the New England Area, roughly 31% of the people who went to churches, and 23% of the population.
* Anglicans made up about 500,000 people in New York as well as the Southern Colonies, roughly 27% of church members and 20% of the population.
* Presbyterians made up 410,000 people, most of them exploring the frontier/western side of the colonies; roughly 22% of churchgoers, and 16.4% of the population.
* German Churches (Lutherans included) made up about 200,000 people in Pennsylvania, roughly 11% of church members, and 8% of the population.
* Dutch Reformed made up about 75,000 people in the New York/New Jersey area, roughly 4% of the churchgoers, and 3% of the population
* Quakers made up about 40,000 of the people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, roughly 3% of the churchgoers and 1.3% of the population.
* Baptists were found in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and only numbered 25,000.
* Roman Catholics were found mostly in Maryland, and also numbered only 25,000.
* The Jewish population only held 2000 people in New York and Rhode Island.
* Methodists were scattered throughout the colonies and were about 5000 in number.

Want some more statistics? As much as the colonists believed in the separation of church and state, most of the colonies' taxes supported one denomination of Christianity or another. The only colonies that didn't were Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. "Disestablished" means that the citizens stopped paying for it.

* Massachusetts supported the Congregational Church. It was finally disestablished in 1833.
* Connecticut supported the Congregational Church. It was disestablished in 1818.
* New Hampshire supported the Congregational Church. It was disestablished in 1819.
* New York supported the Anglican Church. It was disestablished in 1777.
* Maryland supported the Anglican Church. It was disestablished in 1777 as well.
* Virginia supported the Anglican Church. It was disestablished in 1786.
* North and South Carolinas supported the Anglican Church. 1776, and 1778, respectively, are when it was disestablished.
* Georgia also supported the Anglican Church. It was disestablished in 1777.

Even today, there is not a complete separation of church and state. The state enforces the laws which religion defines. 'Thou shalt not kill', says the bible. How long do you stay in jail if you murder someone? All religious leaders of all faiths ask is to be treated equally by the state and allowed to practice their own faith as they wish. That is attainable, and we have been making slow progress since 1777, when the first church was taken off of tax radar. And even before that, in 1620, when the Pilgrims landed on the rocky Plymouth shore. Just some food for thought.