Religion dominated many aspects of Colonial life and was enforced by the government

Many early colonists came to America to escape religious persecution in Europe

Fleeing state-sponsored religious oppression in England and Europe, many early colonists sought freedom of conscience in the New World. Many—especially in New England—established their own religiously exclusive communities: They persecuted dissenters, expelled nonconformists, and enforced orthodoxy.

The earliest colonial schools were often religious

The earliest American schools were far from our notions of “public” or “private”—they were neighborhood institutions, often founded by religious groups, that sought to educate children academically and spiritually.

Colonial self-rule fostered strong autonomy and distrust of centralized power

American colonies were governed through a patchwork of different systems, ranging from Crown-run to locally controlled. Broad local autonomy—often followed by sudden imperial crackdowns—taught colonial leaders to prize home rule and distrust distant centralized power, attitudes that later informed US federalism.

Massachusetts passed the first compulsory education law as early as 1642

The legislation required families to instruct children in religious and colonial law. By 1852, Massachusetts mandated that all children ages 8 to 14 attend school. By 1918, every state had a similar law.

Roger Williams founded the first American colony without an established church

Banished from Massachusetts in 1636 for preaching religious dissent, Williams founded Providence, Rhode Island—one of the earliest governments in the Western world to guarantee broad religious liberty. His phrase "wall of separation" between church and state directly influenced Jefferson and the Constitution's framers.

British colonialism left economic institutions that still shape growth today

This analysis argues that while the British Empire inflicted exploitation and long-term harm, it also exported institutions—like standardized property rights and land surveying—that boosted economic development in some colonies.

Native religious practices were suppressed for centuries before receiving federal protection in 1978

During the first two centuries of American history, the government frequently banned Native ceremonial dances, took sacred sites, and enrolled children in boarding schools where they were prevented from practicing their faith. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 committed the federal government to safeguarding Native spiritual practices.

Watch how the Stamp Act in 1765 sparked the American Revolution

The reaction to the first direct tax on colonists prompted the second-ever colonial congress and a broad boycott of British goods. It also gave birth to the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, the congress's document articulating the "no taxation without representation" stance. The act's passage was a major stepping stone to revolution.

Many religions have core majorities in certain countries

Though most religions have members across the world, they also have major concentrated populations in specific nations. For example, 95% of Hindus live in India, while 85% of the world's Jews live in Israel and the US.

Gambling funded America's early expansion

In the colonial era, lotteries were viewed as a voluntary tax to help fund infrastructure and capital projects. The idea came from Europe, which had used lotteries dating back to the 16th century. The image below is from a Massachusetts lottery in 1758.

Colonial America imported brides for their beer brewing skills

Life in the New World's English colonies was hard, so it's easy to see how these colonizers might've wanted to reach for a cold one more often than not. This article explains how beer brewing became one of the most critical skills expected in imported English wives.

Most Americans support the separation of church and state

A 2021 Pew survey found that 55% of Americans strongly or moderately support the separation of church and state, while 14% favor integrating religion more into government.

Madison argued that the government had no authority to regulate faith

James Madison viewed religion as a matter of individual conscience beyond the reach of the state, opposing government funding of churches and advancing a model of religious liberty based on noninterference rather than official toleration.

The US Bill of Rights drew directly from England's own Bill of Rights

England's 1689 Bill of Rights established protections against cruel and unusual punishment and the right to petition the government. Many of its provisions were adopted nearly word for word by America's founders a century later.

Christmas was briefly banned in 17th-century England

In the 1640s, Puritans outlawed Christmas, deeming it wasteful and unbiblical. For nearly two decades, celebrations were suppressed and violators fined, though many ignored the ban. The law was repealed in 1660.

Many of the founding fathers were deists—believers in a God of reason

A uniquely American iteration of the Enlightenment movement thrived during the Revolution. This selection from a longer write-up on the American Enlightenment highlights six core ideas: deism, liberalism, republicanism, conservatism, toleration, and scientific progress.

The American colonies recognized New Year’s Eve in March until 1752

England followed the Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar, which had an inaccurate method of calculating leap years. Because of that, New Year’s Day eventually slipped into the spring and was linked with the Christian festival of the Annunciation, which was on March 25. That date carried over to the American colonies, which didn’t change the first day of the new year until 1752, after England adopted the newer Gregorian calendar.

Every US state constitution references God or the divine, though the federal Constitution does not

God or the divine is mentioned at least once in all 50 state constitutions and nearly 200 times overall. Massachusetts has the most, with eight references, and four states do not use the word "God" but instead refer to a "Supreme Being" or "Divine Guidance."

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Hear experts discuss how religion has shaped American life

Produced by the National Museum of American Religion, this podcast examines how religion has shaped America and how America has influenced religion—covering topics from the Nation of Islam and rock 'n' roll to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with scholars and everyday citizens as guides.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Country music can be traced back to Colonial America

The genre begins with the folk music of the Colonial settlers, blending the area’s regional sounds, including gospel, African spirituals, and Anglo-Saxon, Scottish, and Celtic ballads.

France has a strict and explicit separation of church and state

France's principle of laïcité—strict separation of church and state—prohibits religious expression in public institutions, including the wearing of religious clothing and symbols in public schools and by government employees.

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014) extended religious exemptions to family-owned corporations

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that family-owned companies could invoke the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to refuse contraception coverage required under the Affordable Care Act. It was the first time the court recognized that for-profit corporations could hold religious beliefs.

The Constitution gives Congress sweeping control over the federal budget

Article I, Section 8's Spending Clause authorizes Congress to tax, pay debts, and promote the "common Defence and general Welfare," making it one of Congress's most powerful tools—and the constitutional foundation of federal budget control.

The Wampanoag collaborated with the Pilgrims in order to survive

Decades of violence and disease brought by European settlers had devastated local tribes. Up to 75% of the Wampanoag people had been eliminated, leading them to sign the peace treaty to preserve those who remained.

In the 1600s, coffee had religious significance

In the 1600s, coffee was important in multiple religious traditions. In Yemen, it was the drink of choice for Sufi mystics to improve their focus and fuel their grueling meditations. Pope Clement VIII's approval spread coffee’s popularity from the Muslim to the Christian world, paving the way for the cappuccino.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people