Religious Tolerence in the British North American Colonies prior to 1700

Some of the American colonies were established by various religious sects from England that either disagreed with the Church of England or fled to the Americas facing persecution by the Anglican Church. Overtime, religious groups in the colonies obtained a charter from the King of England and became formally recognized as colonies. The colonies were shaped according to the beliefs of the religious group (if the colony was established by a religious sect). Religious freedom …

…British migrants from the West Indies, the official religion of the Tidewater colonies was the Church of England. Of the 13 colonies, the New England colonies were the most religion intolerant because of their single mindedness of preserving the Puritan experiment. The laws of the middle colonies were the most tolerant and liberal by offering protection for people of all religions even if they didn't believe in the Bible, unlike the statutes of Maryland and Virginia.