While the Pilgrims and Puritans may have left England to escape religious persecution, the communities they built in New England did not always allow religious freedom for others. Disagreements about how religion should shape society led some colonists to leave and start new settlements. Read about three individuals who challenged religious limits in the colonies: Roger Williams, Thomas Hooker, and Anne Hutchinson.
Roger Williams
Roger Williams was a Puritan minister who believed strongly in the freedom of each person to follow their own religious beliefs. He argued that civil government should not interfere in religious matters, and that forcing people to follow a specific religion was wrong. Williams also believed that the land in New England belonged to Native Americans and should be fairly purchased, not simply taken.
These views led to conflict with Massachusetts leaders, who believed that religion and government should work closely together. In 1635, they banished Williams from the colony. He survived the winter with help from local Native peoples and founded a new settlement called Providence. This colony, which later became part of Rhode Island, welcomed people of all faiths. Williams wrote that no one should be “molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question” for their beliefs. His ideas about separating religion from government later influenced American values.
Thomas Hooker
Thomas Hooker was a Puritan minister in Massachusetts who supported the colony’s religious beliefs but disagreed with how much power was given to church leaders. In Massachusetts, only male church members could vote or help make laws. Hooker believed that all men should have a say in government, not just church members.
Over time, Hooker’s disagreements with the colony’s leaders grew stronger. In 1636, he and his followers left Massachusetts and started a new town called Hartford, in what became the colony of Connecticut. Connecticut still followed Puritan beliefs, but it allowed more people to vote. In 1639, the colony adopted a plan of government called the Fundamental Orders, which gave voting rights to more settlers and became one of the first written constitutions in the colonies.
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was a deeply religious woman who believed people could understand God’s will by reading the Bible themselves. She began holding meetings in her home to discuss sermons and share her views. Hutchinson believed that salvation came only from God, and not through following rules or obeying church leaders.
Puritan leaders in Massachusetts were alarmed by her growing influence and the fact that she was a woman leading religious discussions. In 1637, they put her on trial for heresy (teaching beliefs that went against accepted religious views). Hutchinson defended herself, but she was found guilty and banished from the colony.
Her story shows that even in a colony founded for religious freedom, speaking out or interpreting religion differently, especially as a woman, could lead to punishment.
