The super-optimistic side of the American Way goes something along these lines: ‘Merica is free and open and everyone can do whatever they want ever. They can walk across the street and back without being bricked, or having their car stolen. They can order a Big Mac at any McDonald’s in the country despite the fact that their parents were former Soviets during the Cold War.
And, most trademark of all, free speech. Citizens of ‘Mericaland can say just about whatever they want, whenever they want. If they insulted the President’s mother, he wouldn’t get his head chopped off.
It didn’t used to be this way. In fact, religious intolerance started in America right in the beginning.
The Puritans came to the United States after a split from the Church of England; they disagreed with the church’s relations with Roman Catholicism and sought new lands in which to practice their own denomination of the faith [1]. Then, they met the aboriginal, native Americans on the coast, whom they instantly labeled "heathen." [2] Strike one. They also banished Roger Williams [3] and Anne Hutchinson [4], for speaking out against the Puritan community. Strikes two and three. Then, Quakers, who came from a similar faction of the Puritans but cut out the church as a religious middleman to god, were labeled "religious heretics" and banned from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. [5] Strike four. Ever heard of the Salem Witch Trials? [6]
Only Christians and Catholics were allowed to serve on the government in Massachusetts. In fact, Catholics were regularly persecuted in the colonies by their Protestant counterparts. That is, until the Maryland Toleration Act cut them some slack and made it illegal to discriminate against Catholics, among other Christian denominations. [7]
It also made it legal to execute anyone who denied Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Well done, 'Merica.
But I digress. Religious toleration amongst the colonies increased greatly after the first initial turmoil. Rhode Island became known particularly for its complete freedom for all religions. Pennsylvania became Quakerland. And eventually, secularism was encoded directly into our code of laws. John Locke, an influential philosopher, created the social contract, in which the government derived its power from its subjects. More importantly (and more relevantly (sic?)), he created the idea of natural rights, including the natural right of consciousness and thought that could not be controlled by the government. [8] His theories were further engrained into our Constitution through the Founding Fathers (particularly of dominance, Jefferson).
So really, can we consider America a land of free worship?
Nowadays, definitely. It's a constitutional right, and there's a great amount of emphasis in our government to keep church and state separated. But at its incarnation, the early colonists generally carried English resentments of religious differences with them, Protestants clashing with Catholics and Jews, and Quakers being continuously expelled, and atheists beheaded.
OH NO SCALE: Not Very
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan
2 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Americas-True-History-of-Religious-Tolerance.html?c=y&page=2
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_%28theologian%29
4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson
5 http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=347
6 http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/life/religion.html
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Toleration_Act
8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States
Only Christians and Catholics were allowed to serve on the government in Massachusetts. In fact, Catholics were regularly persecuted in the colonies by their Protestant counterparts. That is, until the Maryland Toleration Act cut them some slack and made it illegal to discriminate against Catholics, among other Christian denominations. [7]
It also made it legal to execute anyone who denied Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Well done, 'Merica.
But I digress. Religious toleration amongst the colonies increased greatly after the first initial turmoil. Rhode Island became known particularly for its complete freedom for all religions. Pennsylvania became Quakerland. And eventually, secularism was encoded directly into our code of laws. John Locke, an influential philosopher, created the social contract, in which the government derived its power from its subjects. More importantly (and more relevantly (sic?)), he created the idea of natural rights, including the natural right of consciousness and thought that could not be controlled by the government. [8] His theories were further engrained into our Constitution through the Founding Fathers (particularly of dominance, Jefferson).
So really, can we consider America a land of free worship?
Nowadays, definitely. It's a constitutional right, and there's a great amount of emphasis in our government to keep church and state separated. But at its incarnation, the early colonists generally carried English resentments of religious differences with them, Protestants clashing with Catholics and Jews, and Quakers being continuously expelled, and atheists beheaded.
OH NO SCALE: Not Very
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan
2 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Americas-True-History-of-Religious-Tolerance.html?c=y&page=2
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_%28theologian%29
4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson
5 http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=347
6 http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/life/religion.html
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Toleration_Act
8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States
