From_1700_to_1775_the_Various_Churches,_Established_and_Non-Established,_Fundamentally_Shaped_Colonial_Life,_Including_Education_and_Politics._React

Regardless of England’s delayed arrival to the New World, they quickly became the dominant power across the Atlantic. Several rationales hauled English settlers to the New World to establish and develop colonies in the name of England. As a consequence of the religious persecutions evident in Europe, a minute group of Separatists, the Pilgrims, fled their residences and established a safe haven in America. However, hypocrisy prevailed in the colonies where religious persecutions, conducted by the oppressed Pilgrims persisted, thus promoting further colonial establishments. Religion played a major responsibility in stimulating colonial expansion and endured in the daily lives of the colonists from the dawn of English influence across the Atlantic, up until the conclusion of their overseas dominance. Throughout the 1700s, religious revivals, including the Great Awakening, were executed, nurturing the significance of religion. Religion was essential and influential in the majority of the lives of Europeans. Growing up in a society governed by holy doctrines, the recently settled Europeans preserved their theological beliefs and embraced it in their quotidian routines, including education and government. During the time that several European nations were vanquishing the New World, religious reformations were occurring in England, halting their formation of colonies across the Atlantic Ocean. A small group of Puritans, known as the Pilgrims, did not concur with the changes and proceeded to the establishment of a new home in America, the Plymouth Bay colony. The Pilgrims’ aspirations for safe haven to freely practice their religion began years prior to their colonial establishment. Their history began during the period of religious reformations; outraged by the Church’s practices, a small group of Puritans, known as Separatists, vowed to break away from the Church of England. The Puritans felt the Church violated biblical principles of devout Christians and their practices resulted in constant persecutions. The dissenters that denounced the Church’s practices and teachings were imprisoned and sometimes severely punished by being branded or having their ears chopped off. England was not a safe residence for the Puritans and expeditious revisions were needed. The Separatists fled England and settled in Holland, where the circumstances were not much healthier or more suitable. The Separatists hoped to find a land where they could live and die as English purified Protestants. The logical solution was to migrate to America. In 1620, the Pilgrims came to America with hopes to freely practice their religion without the persecution they experienced in England, thus guiding the establishment of the Plymouth Bay colony. In addition to the Puritans, the Quakers, Christians and other religious sects were victimized in Europe. However, the Puritans did not welcome opposing views into their establishment, contributing to the further growth of the colonies. The heretics that were oppressed departed from the Plymouth Bay colony to establish their own accommodations where their ignored beliefs were accepted. Of the several groups that were persecuted by the Puritans, a few are notable from the rest and succeeded with the establishment of thriving colonies. Some of the prominent dissenters that withdrew themselves from the Pilgrims’ settlement to find their own are the Quakers, Anne Hutchinson, Roger Williams and Thomas Hooker. These distinguished individuals or groups of individuals were persecuted by the Puritans with fines and banishment, and advanced to intensify England’s territory and wealth in the New World. Throughout the period of colonial development, many religious sects that fled either England or an undesirable colony on account of religious persecutions were lead by a religious leader that also became a founder and distinguished political figure in colonial society. The Royal government played a chief role in the authority of New England. The Royal authority issued the Dominion of New England, an administrative union of the New England colonies and a defense league to prevent French and Indian attacks. The Dominion was greatly shaped by the Church of England, as the government attempted to establish the Anglican Church throughout the region. John Winthrop was a religious leader to the Puritans and led them to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he became their governor. Since he was both their political and religious leader, religion and politics were one in the same throughout the colony. Many religious beliefs and ways became laws throughout the colony. However, the idea of parallelism between the church and state was championed by many. In the eyes of many of the colonists and dissenters of the Puritans, the increasing corruption demanded reforms to segregate the church and state, an idea bolstered by the prominent Enlightenment thinker, Voltaire. In 1636, Roger Williams, another advocate for separation of the church and politics, founded the colony of Providence Plantation, the colony of Rhode Island, for religious refugees. He exiled the Plymouth Bay colony to create a location of religious freedoms. Similarly, Anne Hutchinson was a female Puritan living in the Massachusetts Bay colony who advocated the rights to freedom of speech, worship, and thought. She was banished from the colony and founded Portsmouth which merged to form the sixth English colony, Rhode Island, where her ideas were welcomed. In 1635, Thomas Hooker led a group of individuals from the Plymouth Bay colony, seeking more freedom, financial opportunities, and to escape persecutions, and they founded the colony of Connecticut. The Quakers, a religious society that rejected formal ministry, sacraments and promoted social reforms and pacifism, were facing numerous religious persecutions in England, which continued when they settled in the Plymouth Bay colony. In 1681, William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania, the second to last of the original thirteen colonies, as a place of refuge for the persecuted Quakers. The separation between the church and state was implemented in the United States Constitution, after they claimed their independence from Great Britain. Nevertheless, the partnership of church and state exemplifies how prominent religion was in influencing the growth of politics. The influence of religion thrived in the world of education, where academic institutions emphasized the word of God and stressed the importance of reading the Bible. The government and private organizations supported primary and secondary schooling. However, many believed education should be reserved for the white, male aristocrats. Proper schooling was conspicuous in the Northern colonies, as opposed to the South. The Northern colonies were very religious; therefore their beliefs greatly swayed the teachings of the educational system. Teachers taught their students proper religious doctrines, and the word of God was paramount. The teachers put the majority of accentuation on classical languages and religious beliefs and teachings. Independent thinking was discouraged, reasoning was based on orthodoxy and not challenging the ideas of the Church. Parents taught their children to read the Bible because it was often the only book they owned. Many of the settlers that residing in the New England region were alumni of Cambridge University, a prominent premier learning institution located in England. These intellectuals that settled in New England advocated the need for education. Nine colonial colleges were established between 1636 and 1769. These universities continue to prosper today and many of them are amongst the premier institutions. The original establishments include Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown, Rutgers, and Dartmouth. However, unlike today, these colleges possessed other intentions then emphasizing medicine, law, science, etc., they were centers for ministry. The schools prepared males to become ministers and clergymen. Denomination was evident in academic teachings and the establishment of colonial education systems and institutions. Several years into the existence of the English colonies, the role of the Church of England and other subsidiary locations of worship were crucial in developing colonial education in politics. Contradicting beliefs amongst colonial neighbors led extensive disembarkations from one colony, to establish a safe haven elsewhere, where individuals could freely practice their beliefs. Religion had a substantial effect on the growth of politics throughout the colonies; religion and government coexisted and complemented each other’s actions and decrees. However, this practice proved to be unwelcomed by the preponderance of citizens and was therefore revoked. In education, academic institutions stressed orthodoxy, and not individual reasoning and logic. Religion was accountable for the foundation of English supremacy in the New World and the extension of their dominance, as well as it developed and influenced colonial culture, education and politics