Religion had a huge impact on the composition of America. Religion was an enormous part of the immigrant's lives when they came to America. The majority of the immigrants coming to America were from many different religions in search of their religious freedom. The American Revolution had strong ties to religion. Since America was formed by people with such diverse religious backgrounds, our founding fathers didn"t want America to support just one religion like other countries. Our founding fathers were religious, and took great care in constructing our government to support America's religious freedoms.
Colonists came to America for many reasons in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Some of these motivations were wealth, land, and religion. Religion was the dominant factor in migrating, because many people were fleeing from religious persecution. They were not allowed to believe what they wanted to in their home countries. They were often forced to accept another religion. If they did not accept this religion they were banished, dismembered, or even put to death. They were seeking religious freedom and they saw this new land as their sanctuary. They "came as religious pilgrims and dissenters, seeking an unmolested refuge and an opportunity to worship God in their own particular way." (Andrews 3) The settler's faith in their God helped many of them survive the overwhelming problems of famine, disease, and native attacks they faced.
Many settlers tried with minimal success to convert the natives to Christianity. A Bible was translated into Algonquin by a minister named John Eliot. "This was the first Bible to be printed in the New World." (Morison 157) John Eliot and others were able to convert a good number of Indians to Christianity, and the converted lived in "Praying Indian Towns." (Morison 157) Probably one of the most famous converts was Pocahontas who was baptized in the Church of England.
