Religious Liberty Lesson 1

7/31/2019 Religious Liberty Lesson 1

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The Supreme Court, the First Amendment, and Belief

The curriculum, ReligiousLiberty: The American

Experiment , including aseries of teacher

professional developmentprograms around the

country, was madepossible by generous

donations from the GeorgeWashington Institute for

Religious Freedom.



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Religious Liberty: The American Experiment

Lesson 1

Two Views of ReligiousLiberty: Massachusetts Bay

and Rhode Island

Objectives:Compare and contrast competing

models of religious liberty inMassachusetts Bay and Rhode

Island.Assess the significance of each to theAmerican experiment in religious

liberty.



Mission Statement

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principles for teachers and students of AmericanHistory and Civics. Our mission is to educate young people about the words and ideas of theFounders, the liberties guaranteed in our Foundingdocuments, and how our Founding principlescontinue to affect and shape a free society.



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Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts &Literacy in History/Social Studies

8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning inseminal U.S. texts, including the applicationof constitutional principles and use of legal

reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Courtmajority opinions and dissents) and thepremises, purposes, and arguments inworks of public advocacy (e.g., TheFederalist , presidential addresses).



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Important Definitions

Tolerance : refers to individuals’relationships and attitudes toward oneanother ; capacity for or the practice ofrecognizing and respecting the beliefs orpractices of others.Toleration : government policy that permitsthe practice of certain religions; thepractice of religion is a privilege allowed by government.Religious liberty : the idea that freedom ofconscience is an inalienable right not under

the legitimate control of government.



Lesson One

Massachusetts Bay and RhodeIsland

Two Views of Religious Liberty



Lesson One: Massachusetts Bay and Rhode Island —TwoViews of Religious Liberty

“All the people of god within this Jurisdictionwho are not in a church way, and beorthodox in Judgment, and not scandalousin life, shall have full liberty to gatherthemselves into a Church Estate. Providedthey do it in a Christian way, with dueobservation of the rules of Christ revealed in

his word.” –The Liberties of the Massachusetts Colony inNew England, 1641

“[T]hey have freely declared, that it is much ontheir hearts (if they may be permitted), tohold forth a lively experiment, that a mostflourishing civil state may stand and best bemaintained, and that among our Englishsubjects, with a full liberty in religiousconcernments… “

–Charter of Rhode Island and ProvidencePlantations, 1663

What is religiousliberty?



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OverviewFor Puritans like those who settledMassachusetts Bay, religious liberty meantthe freedom to establish religious

communities, and to reject from thosecommunities those who did not share theirreligious perspective.

By contrast, Rhode Island was founded on

the express principle of religious freedomfor all. Rhode Island welcomed people ofevery (or no) faith, including Quakers and Jews, who were not permitted religiousfreedom anywhere else in the NorthAmerican colonies.




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Massachusetts Bay and Rhode Island

Teacher-friendly lesson plan

Background Essay: Homework

Essay: Massachusetts and RhodeIsland — Two Models of Religious

LibertyIncludes comprehension and criticalthinking questions.



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Massachusetts Bay and Rhode IslandLearning Goals• Understand the place of JohnWinthrop and Roger Williams inAmerican history.• Compare and contrast competingmodels of religious liberty inMassachusetts Bay and Rhode Island.• Assess the significance of each modelto the American experiment inreligious liberty.



Warm-up--Simulation in whichstudents decide whether to admitreformers to voluntary clubs theyhave formed.

Football Club

Music ClubLiterature ClubComputer ClubReformers (C: specific instructions)

Which model of church-staterelations (Massachusetts Bay orRhode Island) did your Clubgroup adopt?




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Two Views: Handouts D & EMassachusetts Bay Rhode IslandBoth

Handout D:

Winthrop--Passagesfrom A Model

of ChristianCharity , 1630

Handout D:Williams--Passagesfrom The

Bloudy Tenetof

Persecution ,1644



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Two Views: Handouts D & EMassachusetts Bay Rhode IslandBoth

John Winthrop

Puritans

“Model of ChristianCharity” Massachusetts Body ofLiberties

Nathaniel Ward

Religious Libertyincludes a people’s rightto exclude non- believers.

Roger Williams

Separation of Churchand State

Rhode Island CharterProvidence Agreement

Bloudy Tenet ofPersecution

Religious Liberty meansfreedom of individualconscience.

Established in part for

the purpose ofproviding something tothe world.

Theological argumentsfor religious liberty

Goal of peaceful &successful way of life.



Discussion:• The Puritans are sometimes criticized for a

hypocritical approach to religious liberty —thatthey wanted religious freedom but they denied itto others. Is this a fair criticism? Why or why not?

• Does it surprise you that Massachusetts was thelast of all the states to disestablish its state church?Why or why not?

• What was the express purpose of the colony ofRhode Island?

• Why do you think the colonies, and, eventually,the states, followed the model of Rhode Island andnot Massachusetts Bay?

Massachusetts Bay and Rhode Island



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Religious Liberty Lesson 1