What religion was practiced by the puritans of colonial Massachusetts Bay?

Religion in the United States is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Various religious faiths have flourished, as well as perished, in the United States. Religions that span the country's multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those founded within the country, have led the United States to become one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.

1 A majority of Americans report that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed nations. The majority of Americans (73%) identify themselves as Christians and about 20% have no religious affiliation. 3 According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), those who identify themselves as Catholics make up about 25% of the adult population, while "other Christians" account for another 51%.

4 The same survey says that other religions (including, for example, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism) collectively make up about 4% of the adult population, another 15% of the adult population claim no religious affiliation, and 5.2% said they did not know, or they refused to reply. 4 According to another survey, 36 percent of Americans state that they attend services nearly every week or more. Despite a high level of religious adherence, only 9% of Americans in a 2008 poll said religion was the most important thing in their life, compared with 45% who said family was paramount in their life and 17% who said money and career was paramount.

From early colonial days, when some English and German settlers came in search of religious freedom, America has been profoundly influenced by religion. 7 That influence continues in American culture, social life, and politics. 8 Several of the original Thirteen Colonies were established by settlers who wished to practice their own religion within a community of like-minded people: the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by English Puritans (Congregationalists), Pennsylvania by British Quakers, Maryland by English Catholics, and Virginia by English Anglicans.

The text of the First Amendment to the country's Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." It guarantees the free exercise of religion while also preventing the government from establishing a state religion. The Supreme Court has also interpreted this as preventing the government from having any authority in religion.

In 1963, 90% of Americans claimed to be Christians; 2% professed no religious identity. In 2012, the percentage of Christians was closer to 70%; 13% claimed no religious identity. Although some New England States continued to use tax money to fund local Congregational churches into the 1830s, the United States claims to have been the first nation to have no official state-endorsed religion.

Modeling the provisions concerning religion within the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the framers of the Constitution rejected any religious test for office, and the First Amendment specifically denied the federal government any power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. The decision was mainly influenced by European Rationalist and Protestant ideals, but was also a consequence of the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not represent them. The United States has perhaps the second largest Bahá'í community in the world.

First mention of the Faith in the U.S. was at the inaugural Parliament of World Religions, which was held at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. In 1894, Ibrahim Kheiralla, a Syrian Bahá'í immigrant established a community in the U.S. He later left the main group and founded a rival movement. The largest religion in the US is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population (76% in 20084).

From those queried, roughly 51% of Americans are Protestants, 24% are Catholics, 1.7% are Mormons (the name commonly used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and 1.7% have affiliations with various other Christian denominations. 1314 Christianity was introduced during the period of European colonization.