Catholic Church in the Thirteen Colonies facts for kids
The Catholic Church in the Thirteen Colonies faced many challenges. People who followed the Catholic faith often experienced persecution from various Protestant groups. These groups usually allowed very little religious freedom for Catholics living in the American colonies. However, Catholics were part of America's story from the very beginning, especially in Maryland, a colony that was actually started by Catholics.
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Why Anti-Catholicism Started
The dislike of Catholics in America began during the Reformation in Europe. Most British colonists were Protestant. They were against the Catholic Church, and many also disliked the Church of England. They felt the Church of England still kept too many Catholic ideas and practices. Many Protestants who were unhappy with the Church of England came to North America to start new religious communities. A historian named John Tracy Ellis noted that a "widespread anti-Catholic feeling was brought to Jamestown in 1607 and grew strong in all thirteen colonies, from Massachusetts to Georgia."
Some colonies had an "established church," which meant that the colonial government used tax money to support one specific church.
Life in the Colonies
Virginia
Long before the English arrived in Jamestown in 1607, Spanish explorers from Hispaniola tried to settle in Virginia in 1526. They were led by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and included Dominican priests. But a harsh winter, rebellions among the settlers, and conflicts with Native Americans forced them to leave in 1527.
In 1624, Virginia became a crown colony. Because the English Church was established there, people of other faiths, especially Catholics, were treated badly. Lord Baltimore tried to start a Catholic colony in Virginia but failed. Strict laws were made against Catholics. For example, in 1641, a law said that supporters of the Pope would be fined a lot of tobacco if they tried to hold public office. The next year, all priests were given five days to leave the colony. In 1661, everyone had to attend the official church services or pay a fine. Officials were told to find and arrest all Catholic priests. By 1699, Catholics lost their right to vote, and later they couldn't even be witnesses in court cases.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts was first settled by English Protestants who disagreed with the Church of England. Groups like Quakers, Jews, and Catholics were not allowed in the colony. Catholics mostly stayed away from Massachusetts during the colonial period. Laws passed in 1647 and 1700 even said that Catholic priests could not live in the colony, or they would face imprisonment or even execution. Many British colonists, such as the Puritans and Congregationalists, had fled religious persecution themselves. This led to a strong anti-Catholic feeling in early American religious culture.
Near the end of King Charles I's rule (around 1649), many Irish people were forced to move to Massachusetts. It's hard to know exactly how many, because a law made all Irish people in certain towns take English surnames.
New Hampshire
The first Catholics in New Hampshire were Abenaki natives. They were converted by Jesuit missionaries from Quebec. New Hampshire was first settled by Anglicans, but in 1641, it came under the control of Massachusetts.
Few Catholics settled there early on because the Plymouth Council's charter banned anyone who hadn't taken the Oath of Supremacy. This oath meant accepting the English monarch as the head of the church, which Catholics could not do. In 1679, Catholics were denied the right to be "freemen" (citizens with full rights), and a "test oath" was put in place in 1696. This ban on Catholics continued even after the United States Constitution was adopted.
Maryland
Catholicism came to the English colonies in 1634 when Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore founded the Province of Maryland. His father, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, had received the land grant. The first settlers arrived with two Jesuit missionaries who traveled as regular gentlemen.
However, when the Royalists lost the English Civil War in 1646, strict laws were made against Catholic education. Known Jesuits, including Andrew White, were forced to leave the colony, and their school was destroyed. For most of Maryland's colonial period, Jesuits secretly ran Catholic schools from their manor house in Newtowne.
After Virginia made Anglicanism its official religion, many Puritans moved from Virginia to Maryland. The government gave them land for a settlement called Providence (now Annapolis). In 1650, the Puritans rebelled against the government and created a new one that outlawed both Catholicism and Anglicanism. In March 1655, the 2nd Lord Baltimore sent an army to stop this revolt. Near Annapolis, his Catholic army was defeated by a Puritan army in the "Battle of the Severn". The Puritan revolt lasted until 1658, when the Calvert family regained control and brought back the Toleration Act.
Connecticut
The first English settlement in Connecticut was started by traders from the Plymouth Colony in 1633. The Dutch had also built a trading post nearby. By 1664, the New Haven Colony joined with the settlements in the Connecticut valley, forming one colony. Most people in Connecticut were English and of Puritan background. Congregationalism was the official religion, supported by public taxes.
Rhode Island
The first settlers in Rhode Island were led by Roger Williams and others who had fled Massachusetts. In 1636, Rhode Island became the first colony to declare religious freedom for all faiths, including all Christian groups. By 1739, there were many different churches in the colony. It is said that in 1680, there were no Catholics in the colony, and their numbers remained small for a long time.
Delaware
The area of Delaware was first settled by Swedish colonists. In 1655, the Swedish settlements were taken over by the Dutch, who then surrendered to the English in 1664. From its earliest days, the government of Delaware never showed religious intolerance.
Before 1772, there are no clear records of any official Catholic churches in Delaware. There were very few Catholics in the state before the late 1700s. In 1730, Cornelius Hallahan, an Irish Catholic, settled in New Castle County. The first Catholic services in the state were probably held at his house. Jesuits from Maryland established the Apoquiniminck Mission before 1750. Reports from the Dover Mission in 1748 and 1751 mentioned a few "Papist" (Catholic) families who had a priest visit them once a month from Maryland. In 1772, a Jesuit priest bought a farm and built a log chapel called St. Mary's.
By 1785, Delaware was one of only four states (along with Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia) where Catholics did not face significant legal disadvantages.
North Carolina
In 1663, King Charles II, who had some sympathy for Catholics, granted land to Sir George Carteret and seven others. This land became the province of Carolina. The owners had full power to make laws. By 1674, the population was about four thousand. After 1729, Carolina became a royal province, directly controlled by the king. Under the original owners, there was much religious discrimination. However, under the Crown, there was less, except for holding public office. The rule that denied office to anyone who didn't accept the Protestant religion stayed in the Constitution until 1835.
New York
The Dutch Colony of New Netherland in the 1600s was officially Protestant but was generally tolerant of other faiths. When the English took over in 1664, they allowed full religious freedom for other Protestant groups and protected the rights of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1682, under Governor Thomas Dongan, an Irish Catholic nobleman, the province adopted the Charter of Liberties, which declared religious freedom for all Christians. However, this charter was not officially approved by the king. In 1688, a political change in England led to less tolerance, and New York followed this example, persecuting the Catholic Church.
In 1697, even though the Anglican Church was never officially established in New York, Trinity Church was founded in New York City by royal charter and received many privileges and land grants. The Dutch Reformed Churches still kept their property and rights. This situation continued for many years, as most people in New York were not of English descent when the American Revolution began in 1776.
Because of political issues and the long fight between England and France for control of North America, the provincial government passed laws against Catholics. Catholic priests and teachers were ordered to stay away or leave immediately. Severe punishments, including long imprisonment, were given for disobeying these laws. During the panic of the Slave Insurrection of 1741, a schoolmaster named John Ury was tried and executed for his supposed role in the uprising.
New Jersey
New Jersey was founded as a private colony by Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They attracted settlers from England, Scotland, New England, and especially from Long Island and Connecticut. Many of these settlers were Calvinists (Presbyterians and Congregationalists) and settled in areas like Newark and Elizabeth. They brought their strong religious and civil beliefs with them.
The greater religious freedom under Berkeley and Carteret attracted some Catholic settlers to New Jersey. As early as 1672, priests visited places like Woodbridge and Elizabethtown to serve Catholics there. However, Catholics were often viewed with suspicion. In 1668, a Catholic named William Douglass was elected as a representative but was removed from the General Assembly because of his religion. In 1691, New York passed the first anti-Catholic law, which was followed by similar laws in both New York and New Jersey. When Lord Cornbury became governor in 1701, Queen Anne told him to allow religious freedom to everyone except "papists" (Catholics).
South Carolina
In 1670, South Carolina was founded with a settlement on the Ashley River. Charleston became the main settlement in 1673. Many Dutch immigrants from New York arrived, followed by Presbyterian Scotch-Irish in 1683. A very important addition was the arrival of French Huguenots after the Edict of Nantes was canceled, who settled on the Cooper River and later gained political rights. In 1697, religious freedom was given to all "except Papists." An attempt was made in 1704 to keep Dissenters (non-Anglicans) out of the Assembly, but Queen Anne canceled this law. The Crown took control in 1721.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania was created in 1681 when William Penn received a large land grant from the king. Penn, a devoted member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), wanted to create a safe home for persecuted Quakers. Penn was very advanced for his time in his ideas about democratic government and religious tolerance. His Quaker beliefs helped spread an attitude of tolerance for all Christian faiths among the people of Pennsylvania and into the colony's laws. The first Constitution of Pennsylvania established religious freedom, but it was not fully accepted by the King's Privy Council. The Frame of Government of 1701 guaranteed freedom of conscience to all who believed in "one Almighty God" and allowed anyone who believed in "Jesus Christ the Savior of the World" to hold office.
Georgia
James Oglethorpe planned to settle a colony in the New World with people who had been in English prisons. According to the colony's rules, freedom of worship was to be given to all future colonists "except papists." In royal colonies like Georgia, citizens were expected to belong to the Anglican Church.
Examples of Religious Tolerance
Rhode Island, led by Roger Williams, allowed religious freedom for all faiths when it was founded. Maryland was also an example of religious toleration in a time when most places were not tolerant. The Maryland Toleration Act, passed in 1649, was one of the first laws that clearly defined tolerance for different religions. It is seen as an early step toward the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, which protects religious freedom.
Few Catholics in the Colonies
In 1700, Maryland had fewer than 3,000 Catholics out of a population of 34,000 (about 9%). In 1757, Pennsylvania had fewer than 1,400 Catholics out of about 200,000 people. By 1790, when the newly formed United States had its first national census, there were fewer than 65,000 Catholics out of almost four million people (about 1.6%). John Carroll, who became the first Catholic bishop in the United States, estimated in 1785 that there were only 25,000 Catholics: 15,800 in Maryland, 7,000 in Pennsylvania, and 1,500 in New York. There were only 25 priests in total.
Church Leadership from London
Until the end of the Continental Congress in 1789, Catholics in the American colonies were under the authority of a titular bishop from the Catholic Church in England and Wales. This bishop was called the Vicar Apostolic of the London District, and his power included Catholics in British (English-speaking) areas of America. The last British Catholic bishops to oversee Catholics in the newly formed United States were Richard Challoner (from 1758–1781) and James Robert Talbot (from 1781–1790). Talbot was then replaced by the American, John Carroll, who became the first American-born bishop.
