Source 1: Excerpt from Roger Williams Banishment (1835)
Context: In 1635, the Massachusetts government ordered a minister named Roger Williams to leave the colony. This was a legal response to Williams’s public criticism of the government’s authority over religious life.
Excerpt:
Whereas Mr. Roger Williams, one of the leaders of the church in Salem, has spread various new and dangerous opinions against the authority of magistrates [government officials], and has also written letters of defamation [insults] against both the officials and the churches here... and still maintains these opinions without taking them back;
It is therefore ordered that the said Mr. Williams shall depart from this jurisdiction [territory] within six weeks from now. If he fails to do so, it shall be legal for the Governor and two officials to send him to some place outside of this jurisdiction, not to return any more without permission from the Court.
Source 2: Adapted excerpt from Parishes and Tithes (1643)
Context: In March 1643, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law reorganizing church governance in the colony. The statute formed part of a broader effort to replace earlier legislation and clarify how religious institutions would operate within colonial government.
Excerpt:
Be it enacted for the advancement of God’s glory and the weale publique, that these orders & constitutions hereafter following concerninge the Church government be and remaine in full power, force & virtue…
That there be a vestrie held in each parish, for the making of the leavies and assessments for such uses as are requisite & necessary for the repairing of the churches, and that there be yearly chosen two or more churchwardens in every parish…
That the liturgy of the church of England for the administration of the word & sacrament, be duly performed according to the book of common prayer, allowed by his Majesty & confirmed by consent of parliament…
Be it also enacted and confirmed… that there be ten pounds of tobacco per poll & a bushel of corn per poll paid to the ministers within the several parishes of the colony for all tithable persons.
Source 3: Adapted excerpt from Maryland Toleration Act (1649)
Context: In 1649, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act. Founded by the Catholic Calvert family, the colony faced growing tensions between Catholic and Protestant settlers. The law was enacted to preserve civil order by protecting freedom of worship for Christians who believed in the Trinity while imposing strict penalties for blasphemy and certain religious offenses.
Excerpt:
Because in a well-governed and Christian commonwealth, matters concerning religion and the honor of God should be given serious attention first, it is therefore ordered and enacted by the Right Honourable Cecilius, Lord Baltimore, absolute Lord and Proprietary of this Province, with the advice and consent of this General Assembly:
That any person within this province or the islands belonging to it who from now on blasphemes God, that is, curses Him or denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, or denies the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or denies the divinity of any of the three persons of the Trinity or the unity of the Godhead, or speaks any insulting or disrespectful words about the Holy Trinity or any of its three persons, shall be punished with death and the confiscation of all his or her lands and goods to the Lord Proprietary and his heirs…
And it is also further enacted by the same authority that any person who insults another person within this province, or in its ports, harbors, creeks, or havens, by calling them a heretic, schismatic, idolater, puritan, independent, presbyterian, popish priest, Jesuit, papist, Lutheran, Calvinist, Anabaptist, Brownist, Antinomian, Barrowist, Roundhead, separatist, or any other religious name in a disrespectful way, shall for each offense forfeit ten shillings sterling, or the equivalent value, taken from the offender’s goods and property. One-half of this penalty shall be paid to the person who was insulted, and the other half to the Lord Proprietary…
And it is further enacted by the authority mentioned above that any person within this province who profanes the Sabbath or Lord’s Day, called Sunday, by frequent swearing, drunkenness, disorderly recreation, or by working on that day when absolute necessity does not require it, shall for the first offense forfeit two shillings and six pence sterling, for the second offense five shillings sterling, and for the third offense and every offense afterward ten shillings sterling. If the offender does not have sufficient goods to pay these penalties, the offender shall for the first and second offenses be imprisoned until he or she publicly acknowledges in open court before the chief commander, judge, or magistrate of the county, town, or district where the offense occurred that the behavior gave offense against God and the good civil government of this province. For the third offense and every offense afterward, the offender shall also be publicly whipped.
Source 4: Adapted excerpt from An Act Made at a General Court, Held at Boston, The 20TH of October, 1658.
Context: In October 1658, the Massachusetts General Court issued a statute regarding the legal status of Quakers within the colony’s jurisdiction. This act was part of a broader administrative effort to define the boundaries of religious practice and regulate dissenting groups within the commonwealth.
Excerpt:
Whereas there is a harmful sect, commonly called Quakers, that has recently arisen, who through speech and writing have published and maintained many dangerous and troubling beliefs, and who take it upon themselves to change and alter the accepted and respected customs of our nation by refusing to show civil respect to equals or proper reverence to those in authority, whose actions tend to undermine civil government and destroy the order of the churches by denying all established forms of worship and withdrawing from the regular church fellowship allowed and approved by all orthodox believers, and instead meeting among themselves in opposition to it, influencing the minds of the simple or those least committed to the order and government of church and commonwealth, so that many of our inhabitants have been affected by these ideas; and although earlier laws were made based on experience with their arrogant and bold attempts to spread their beliefs among us and to prevent their coming into this jurisdiction, they have not been discouraged from their determined efforts to undermine our peace and threaten our safety.
For the prevention of this, the court orders and enacts that every person of the sect called Quakers who is not an inhabitant but is found within this jurisdiction shall be arrested without a warrant when no magistrate is present, by any constable, commissioner, or selectman, and passed from constable to constable until brought before the nearest magistrate, who shall commit that person to close prison without bail until the next Court of Assistants, where they shall have a legal trial; and if convicted of belonging to the sect of the Quakers, they shall be sentenced to banishment under penalty of death; and any inhabitant of this jurisdiction who is convicted of belonging to that sect, whether by adopting, publishing, or defending the beliefs of the Quakers, or by stirring up unrest, sedition, or rebellion against the government, or by practicing their customs, such as refusing civil respect to equals and superiors and withdrawing from our church assemblies and instead holding their own meetings in opposition to our church order, or by supporting or approving any known Quaker and the beliefs and practices of the Quakers that oppose the accepted religious views of the community, or by attempting to turn others against civil government and church order, or by condemning the actions and decisions of this court against the Quakers and thereby showing agreement with those who aim to overthrow the established order of church and state, every such person, upon conviction before the Court of Assistants as described above, shall be committed to close prison for one month, and then, unless they voluntarily leave this jurisdiction, must give bond for their good behavior and appear at the next court, where if they continue to refuse to withdraw and correct the beliefs mentioned above they shall be sentenced to banishment under penalty of death; and any magistrate who receives information about such a person shall cause that person to be arrested and may commit that person to prison at his discretion until the person comes to trial as described above.
Source 5: Excerpt from the Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1663)
Context: In 1663, King Charles II issued a royal charter establishing the English colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The charter was secured through a petition led by John Clarke and confirmed legal recognition of settlements founded earlier by Roger Williams and others in the Narragansett Bay region. It defined the colony’s territorial boundaries and created the framework for its civil government.And be it further enacted by the authority stated above that every Jesuit, seminary priest, missionary, or other spiritual or ecclesiastical person made or ordained by any authority claiming power from the Pope or the See of Rome, or who presents himself as such by preaching or teaching others to say Catholic prayers, by celebrating Mass, granting absolution, or using any other Roman Catholic ceremonies and rites of worship, whatever name, title, or degree such a person may use, who continues to remain in or comes into this province or any part of it after the first day of November mentioned above shall be considered an instigator and disturber of the public peace and safety and an enemy to the true Christian religion. Such a person shall be sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. If any person so sentenced and imprisoned breaks prison, escapes, and is later recaptured, he shall suffer the same punishments, penalties, and forfeitures as in cases of felony.
And it is further enacted by the authority stated above that every person who knowingly and willingly receives, harbors, conceals, aids, supports, or assists any Jesuit priest, missionary, or other member of the Roman Catholic clergy, knowing him to be such, and is lawfully convicted before any of His Majesty’s courts of record within this province, which courts are empowered and authorized to hear, try, and determine the same, shall forfeit the sum of two hundred pounds of current money of this province. One half shall go to His Majesty for the support of the government, and the other half shall go to the informer who brings the case in any court of record within this province, where no legal protection or wager of law shall be allowed. Such a person shall also be punished by being set in the pillory on three separate days and by being bound to good behavior at the discretion of the court.
And be it further enacted by the authority stated above that it shall be lawful for every justice of the peace to cause any person suspected of being a Jesuit, seminary priest, or member of the Roman Catholic clergy to be arrested and brought before himself and another of His Majesty’s justices. If such a person does not give a satisfactory account of himself, he shall be committed to prison in order to stand trial. It shall also be lawful for any person to arrest without a warrant any Jesuit seminary priest or other member of the Roman Catholic clergy and bring him before the governor or any two members of the council to be examined and imprisoned until a trial, unless he gives a satisfactory account of himself. Because capturing such a person is considered a service to the King, the governor of this province, with the advice and consent of the council, may reward the person who seizes and arrests such a Jesuit priest, missionary, or Roman Catholic church official as the governor deems appropriate
Excerpt:
Our royal will and pleasure is, that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall be in any wise molested [bothered], punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of religion, provided they do not actually disturb the civil peace of our said colony;
But that all and every person and persons may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgments and consciences, in matters of religious concernments... they behaving themselves peaceably and quietly, and not using this liberty to licentiousness [immorality] and profaneness, nor to the civil injury or outward disturbance of others
Source 6: Adapted excerpt from Act Against Jesuits and Popish Priests (1700)
Context: In 1700, the colonial government of New York passed a law concerning Jesuit and Roman Catholic priests. At the time, small Catholic communities existed in several English colonies, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. Jesuit missionaries traveled between settlements to provide religious services to these communities. The law outlined penalties for Jesuit or Roman Catholic clergy found within the colony and for individuals who assisted them.
Excerpt:
And be it further enacted by the authority stated above that every Jesuit, seminary priest, missionary, or other spiritual or ecclesiastical person made or ordained by any authority claiming power from the Pope or the See of Rome, or who presents himself as such by preaching or teaching others to say Catholic prayers, by celebrating Mass, granting absolution, or using any other Roman Catholic ceremonies and rites of worship, whatever name, title, or degree such a person may use, who continues to remain in or comes into this province or any part of it after the first day of November mentioned above shall be considered an instigator and disturber of the public peace and safety and an enemy to the true Christian religion. Such a person shall be sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. If any person so sentenced and imprisoned breaks prison, escapes, and is later recaptured, he shall suffer the same punishments, penalties, and forfeitures as in cases of felony.
And it is further enacted by the authority stated above that every person who knowingly and willingly receives, harbors, conceals, aids, supports, or assists any Jesuit priest, missionary, or other member of the Roman Catholic clergy, knowing him to be such, and is lawfully convicted before any of His Majesty’s courts of record within this province, which courts are empowered and authorized to hear, try, and determine the same, shall forfeit the sum of two hundred pounds of current money of this province. One half shall go to His Majesty for the support of the government, and the other half shall go to the informer who brings the case in any court of record within this province, where no legal protection or wager of law shall be allowed. Such a person shall also be punished by being set in the pillory on three separate days and by being bound to good behavior at the discretion of the court. And be it further enacted by the authority stated above that it shall be lawful for every justice of the peace to cause any person suspected of being a Jesuit, seminary priest, or member of the Roman Catholic clergy to be arrested and brought before himself and another of His Majesty’s justices. If such a person does not give a satisfactory account of himself, he shall be committed to prison in order to stand trial. It shall also be lawful for any person to arrest without a warrant any Jesuit seminary priest or other member of the Roman Catholic clergy and bring him before the governor or any two members of the council to be examined and imprisoned until a trial, unless he gives a satisfactory account of himself. Because capturing such a person is considered a service to the King, the governor of this province, with the advice and consent of the council, may reward the person who seizes and arrests such a Jesuit priest, missionary, or Roman Catholic church official as the governor deems appropriate.