Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, England and all of Europe were fraught with religious prejudices. These pitted Protestants against Catholics and let to wars, executions, and torture. England would fight a civil war, in part, over religious disputes among Protestants.
When Maryland settlers departed England in 1633, they embarked upon a unique social experiment. Cecil Calvert sought to build a colony where one's faith wouldn't be a source of conflict. He launched the first society in America where freedom of religion was the official policy.
Unlike in England; Anglicans, Presbyterians, Puritans, Quakers, Roman Catholics, and others could worship in Maryland; and live freely without the government imposing a religion on them. To achieve this, Lord Baltimore never let his government favor one religious denomination over another.
Maryland, unlike other colonies, had no established or official Church. All faiths were free to hire their own ministers, and build their own churches or meeting houses. Successful for half a century, revolution in 1689 overturned this policy and ended liberty of conscience in the colony. Only after the American Revolution was Maryland's bold experiment in freedom of worship made the law of the land.
[Captions:]
Although Lord Baltimore's policy of religious freedom existed from the beginning of Maryland, An Act Concerning Religion codified it into law in 1649. Despite harsh language added to the bill by Puritan legislators, this act became the first official law offering religious freedom in America.
The following religions can be documented as having been present in 17th-century Maryland:
Roman Catholics
Church of England
Quakers
Puritans
Anabaptists
Lutheran
Labadists
Huguenots
Presbyterians
The oldest standing building in Maryland is a meeting house constructed by Quakers in 1685, in Easton. Maryland had the first large population of Quakers in colonial America, due to Lord Baltimore's religious policy.
[Aside:]
Jacob Lumbrozo:
An Act Concerning Religion states that it only pertains to Christians. What about people of other faiths? The first Jew in Maryland may have been Jacob Lumbrozo, who arrived in 1658. Soon afterward, he was charged with blasphemy, but pardoned. Lumbrozo later owned land, received licenses from the government, served on juries, and was even granted a form of citizenship. This demonstrates that Lord Baltimore's policy of religious freedom was broader than implied by the wording of the act.
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