USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The earliest settlers in Rhode Island were led by Roger Williams and other refugees from Massachusetts. Rhode Island was the first colony to declare freedom of religion for all faiths, including all denominations of Christianity, in 1636.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1635 Roger Williams, a Puritan dissident, was banned from Massachusetts. Williams then moved south and founded Rhode Island. Rhode Island became the first colony with no established church and the first to grant religious freedom to everyone, including Quakers and Jews.

Detailed explanation-3: -Pennsylvania and New York were two other colonies known for their establishment of religious freedom. Quaker leader William Penn founded Pennsylvania 5 in 1681, and seeking to grow the colony, made it a bastion of religious freedom.

Detailed explanation-4: -In 1630 a fleet of ships carrying Puritan colonists left England for Massachusetts to seek religious freedom. They were led by John Winthrop. The Puritans believed that they had made a covenant, or promise, with God to build an ideal Christian community.

Detailed explanation-5: -The New England colonists-with the exception of Rhode Island-were predominantly Puritans, who, by and large, led strict religious lives. The clergy was highly educated and devoted to the study and teaching of both Scripture and the natural sciences.