From the very beginning, people from across mountains, valleys, and oceans came to America for more liberties and independence than they had had where they originally came from. America's citizens come from all different ethnicities and beliefs, making it the most diverse country in the world. Like a salad bowl, America's population is made up of a variety of parts but every group in the mix still retains its individual identity. However, it wasn't always like this. As a theology-oriented country from the start, religion had always had a large effect on the government and society. Ultimately, religion is what prompted peoples' growing sense of individualism shaping America's identity as the "land of the free " "a nation continually becoming more diverse in religious beliefs as well as race, etc.
Search for Religious Identity.
The first European settlers in the 17th century came to the New World in search of religious freedom from the English Anglican Church. These people were deeply religious fundamentalists who practiced Puritanism, doing everything by the Bible and living to solely please God and get to Heaven "of which they could freely do in America. Once the second generation was born, they slowly begin to lose sight of the original purpose of coming to the New World. Having been born there, they didn't experience the dominance of the Old World their ancestors emigrated from. When the first settlers die out, the faltering of tradition and development of new beliefs by newer generations aroused what is known as the First Great Awakening. In this period, the ideas of spiritual renewal and rebirth swept through the New England colonies. The rebels searching for their own religious identity preached and proclaimed the idea that everyone could experience God personally. As a result, people began to question the authority of the magistrate and what had made them special as religious leaders.
