Religious Interactions between the Africans, Amerindians and
Europeans in British Colonial America
Christopher J. Reed
HIS 379
Pamela Huckins
October 22, 2012

Religious Interactions between Africans, Amerindians and
Europeans in British Colonial America Christianity played an important role in each of the British Colonies, and religious practice was strictly enforced. All colonists that were of adult age had to attend religious services and pay the taxes that paid the ministers. People who attempted to practice a non-Christian belief were often times persecuted. In Europe there was a split in the Protestant Anglican Church and it branched into the traditional Anglicans and the reforming Protestants. These differences continued and led to the colonization of America. “Puritans journeyed to New England for more than reformation of the Church of England, but religious purity was certainably a matter of considerable importance in establishing a city” (Benjamin p. 66). Puritans came to the new world and established themselves as the dominant denomination in the colonies. This gave birth to new movements in the Colonies, such as the Quakers, Methodists and Baptists. It was this religious freedom that allowed Europeans to come to the new world to practice their form of Christianity. Despite the attempts to rule the colonies based firmly on religious grounds, in the beginning there were irregular practices because of the lack of settlers. The lack of women in the colonies and the shortage of clergymen made religion very irregular also in the beginning. One other thing that led to the lack of religious control was the practice of other ideologies, such as witchcraft. The clergy discouraged these practices of “black” magic as much as they possible could. As the Colonies became more established and population began to grow, the influence of the