Religion's Influence in Colonial America- Middle Atlantic and New England

In the seventeenth century, many migrants were making the move from England to the new colonial America. Several of them were in search of land for economic reasons, while the others were seeking religious toleration from the king. A large number of the newcomers settled in New England, hoping for a newfound religious freedom. The Middle Atlantic region seemed to be settled differently, however, by means that the area was more religiously tolerant and how it was not the central reason for a settlement. From the seventeenth century to 1740, religion was not a necessity in the Middle Atlantic region and did not affect society how it did in New England, where it affected society politically, socially, and economically.

In England at the time, King James I began forcing all his people to attend the Protestant Church of England to merge with the Puritan ministry. Many disgruntled Englishmen, known to be separatists who broke away from the church, made their way to America for religious freedom so they could practice religion without it being controlled by the government. Other pilgrim separatists from Holland made the move to America with the Puritans from England to settle around the Massachusetts area to practice Puritanism at Plymouth colony. 20,000 colonists settled in the New England region during the mid-1600s and was known as the Great Migration. Religion in New England controlled the economic, social, and political point of views of its settlers. Economically, Massachusetts taxed its settlers to fund the Congressionalist Church, and also used the money to build churches and provide support for the ministers. Socially, the settlers were influenced by Winthrop's "city upon a hill" sermon, which reinforced the idea of being a model society. This gave the Puritans a drive for hard work ethic and a solemn devotion to their faith. In this instance, religion socially brought the people together, creating a closer community. The Puritans also believed highly in education and built schools for children to learn to read and write so they could understand the bible. The New England colonies were smarter than the Middle Atlantic colonies because of this stern education system and hard work ethic. Politically, the church was tied into the government with many religious heads being government officials and political leaders. The closeness of the church and state was something very easy to notice.

Greatly differing from the New England region, the Middle Atlantic's development was not as influenced by religion. Compared to New England, the Middle Atlantic was a lot more religiously tolerant. Most settlers in this area were there for its economic advantages and relied heavily on slaves, indentured servants, mixed farming and trade. The New England colonies on the other hand were sufficiently supplied and relied mostly on trade. Also, because of the Middle Atlantic regions religious tolerance, it held some of the most diverse

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