On June 20, 1632, King Charles I of England granted a charter for the Colony of Maryland, named for his CATHOLIC wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, whose mother was the Queen of France, Marie de' Medici, of the powerful Medici Italian banking dynasty.
Maryland's original charter stated:
"Charles, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith ...
Whereas our well beloved ... subject Cecilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, in our Kingdom of Ireland ... being animated with a laudable, and pious zeal for extending the CHRISTIAN RELIGION ...
hath humbly besought leave of us that he may transport, by his own ... expense, a numerous colony of the English Nation, to certain ... parts of America ... partly occupied by savages, having no knowledge of the Divine Being ...
With the increasing worship and RELIGION OF CHRIST within said region ... shall ... be built ... Churches, Chapels, and Places of Worship."
The flag of Maryland is the Baltimore family Coat of Arms.
The CATHOLIC Lord Baltimore Cecilius Calvert sent his brother, Leonard Calvert, with two ships, the Ark and the Dove, to settle the Colony of Maryland.
The ship names are a reference to Noah, who, after the rain stopped:
"He sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth ...
Then Noah and his sons went forth from the ark with their wives and they replenished the earth." (Genesis, chapter 8)
Cecilius gave instructions to his brother, Leonard Calvert, the first Governor of Maryland, 1634:
"To preserve peace and unity amongst all the passengers ... treat the PROTESTANTS with as much mildness and favor as justice will require."
Buying land from the Indians, they founded the St. Mary's City, considered the birthplace of religious tolerance in the United States.
In 1649, they extended liberty to PROTESTANTS by issuing the Maryland Toleration Act, which stated:
"That no person ... within this province ... professing to believe in JESUS CHRIST shall ... from henceforth be any ways troubled or molested ... in respect of his or her religion."
Meanwhile, back in England, a Civil War broke out between PURITAN PROTESTANTS and ANGLICAN PROTESTANTS.
The PURITANS won.
In 1649, when Virginia drove out anyone who was not an ANGLICAN, many PURITANS fled to Maryland, founding the city of Annapolis.
In order to maintain possession of his colony, Lord Baltimore Cecilius Calvert appointed a PURITAN PROTESTANT, William Stone, as Governor of Maryland, 1649-1655.
PURITANS chopped off the head of ANGLICAN King Charles I in 1649.
His sons, 19-year-old Charles II, and 16-year-old James II, fled to CATHOLIC France where they lived with their 11-year-old first cousin, King Louis XIV.
Charles I's daughter, Mary, was sent to the Netherlands, as she had an arranged marriage with PROTESTANT William II of Orange, the future Stadtholder of the Netherlands. (Their son, William III, would later be King of England.)
England was ruled by a divided Parliament with Oliver Cromwell as the Lord Protector, 1653-1658.
Cromwell encouraged Jews to return to England, after they had been banished for over 350 years, beginning with Edward I.
In 1655, Oliver Crowmwell called a general fast and threatened military action on behalf of the PROTO-PROTESTANT WALDENSIANS, after 1,700 men, women and children were mercilessly massacred by the French CATHOLIC army of the Duke of Savoy in the Piedmont area of southeast France bordering Italy.
English poet John Milton memorialized it in his poem, "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont."
Swiss and Dutch CALVINIST PROTESTANTS smuggled surviving WALDENSIANS through a type of "underground railroad" to Switzerland, Germany, the Dutch Republic, and some to the Western Hemisphere, including New Amsterdam, New Jersey, Delaware, and North Carolina.
In an act of reconciliation, June 22, 2015, Pope Francis spoke at the historic Waldensian Temple in Turin, Italy:
"The unity produced by the Holy Spirit does not mean uniformity ...
Unfortunately, it happened and continues to occur that brothers do not accept their differences and end up making war against one another.
By reflecting on the history of our relations, we cannot help but be saddened by the disputes and acts of violence committed in the name of our faith ...
On behalf of the Catholic Church ... I ask your forgiveness for unchristian-like and even inhuman attitudes and conduct which, historically, we have had against you. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us!"
Attitudes in America were influenced by the tensions in Europe.
On March 25, 1655, in what was considered "the last battle of the English Civil War," PURITANS took over the Colony of Maryland, and proceeded to pass laws against CATHOLICS, such as the Act Concerning Religion, October 20, 1654:
"That such as profess Faith in GOD by JESUS CHRIST, though differing in Judgment from from the Doctrine, Worship or Discipline ... should not be restrained but protected in the Profession of the Faith and Exercise of their Religion ... Provided such liberty was NOT EXTENDED TO POPERY ...
That none who profess and exercise the PAPISTIC, commonly known as the ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION, can be protected in this province."
With the PURITANS in control of England, an ANGLICAN named John Washington emigrated to Virginia in 1657.
His great-grandson was George Washington.
In 1658, Oliver Cromwell died and as the Parliament fell into confusion, being torn between various groups of PURITANS, PRESBYTERIANS, LEVELLERS, and others.
Some feared the country would descend into anarchy, so a movement began to bring Charles I's son back from exile in Europe.
Charles II had to make concessions to get the support of the the Scottish PRESBYTERIANS.
Admiral William Penn helped bring Charles II back to England to restore the monarchy in 1660.
In 1661, Lord Baltimore Cecilius Calvert sent his 24-year-old Charles to be the Governor of Maryland.
With the help of Admiral Penn, Charles II defeated the Dutch and gave the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to his brother, James, the Duke of York, resulting in New Amsterdam being renamed New York in 1664.
Charles II also gave Admiral Penn's son, the QUAKER William Penn, the Colony of Pennsylvania in 1681.
When Charles II died in 1685, and his brother, James, the Duke of York, became King James II.
James II's daughter, Mary, married the Dutch leader William III, the Prince of Orange.
When it appeared that James II was going to make England CATHOLIC again, his supporters abandoned him.
ANGLICAN leaders in the British Parliament invited the PROTESTANT Dutch leader William III, and his wife, Mary, to co-rule England as William and Mary.
James II fled in exile to France.
Known as the "Glorious Revolution of 1688," this turn of events also confirmed the supremacy of the British Parliament over the Crown.
In Maryland, ANGLICANS took control of the colony, and CATHOLICS were again denied freedom of conscience, as stated in an Act to Prevent the Growth of Popery, September 30, 1704:
"That whatsoever POPISH Bishop, Priest or Jesuit, shall baptize any child ... other than such who have POPISH Parents or shall say Mass ... shall forfeit ... fifty pounds Sterling ... and shall also suffer six months imprisonment ...
And be it further enacted ... if any PAPIST ... shall keep school or take upon themselves the education ... or boarding of youth ... such persons ... shall upon conviction be transported out of this Province."
The wealthiest man in Maryland, Charles Carroll II of Annapolis, sailed to France in 1752, to meet with CATHOLIC King Louis XV to propose obtaining land in the Louisiana Territory in order to move Maryland CATHOLICS there, though this plan never materialized.
Maryland was a coastal colony and became a destination for settlers of various Christian faiths:
- Quakers;
- Scots and Scots-Irish Presbyterians;
- German Moravians;
- Mennonites; and
- other persecuted Protestant dissenters.
The thirteen colonies in America, with their different denominations, realized they had to work together in order to defeat the ANGLICAN King George III.
One incident of working together came in 1775, when the Continental Army was camped at Harvard College, on the Cambridge Commons.
Soldiers from Connecticut had made plans for the annual Guy Fawkes procession, with its custom of burning the Pope in effigy, (and later wearing Guy Fawkes masks), in remembrance of how in 1605, the gunpowder plot of CATHOLICS to blow up the British Parliament was foiled.
When General Washington heard of the planned activity, he halted the event and expressed dismay at their lack of decency, as CATHOLICS were fighting together with them against the British.
At first, Maryland, resisted joining the Revolution, as almost every member of the ANGLICAN clergy there supported King George III.
The son of Charles Carroll II of Annapolis was Charles III of Carrollton, who helped convince Maryland to join in the Revolution.
He gave his support to the cause of independence, being the sole CATHOLIC to sign the Declaration.
Charles Carroll III wrote to Rev. John Stanford, October, 9, 1827:
"To obtain religious as well as civil liberty I entered jealously into the Revolution, and observing the CHRISTIAN religion divided into many SECTS, I founded the hope that no one would be so predominant as to become the religion of the State.
That hope was thus early entertained because all of them joined in the same cause, with few exceptions of individuals."
During the Revolution's freezing winter at Valley Forge, a plot emerged in the Continental Congress to replace General George Washington with General Horatio Gates.
Charles Carroll was key in persuading them not to.
Charles Carroll III's cousin was a priest, Fr. John Carroll.
In 1776, Fr. John Carroll traveled with Charles Carroll, Samuel Chase and Ben Franklin to the city of Montreal, province of Quebec, Canada, which was predominantly French CATHOLIC,
They attempted to persuade them to join in the Revolution against Britain, as that French Canada had been seized by the British army in 1763, during the French and Indian War.
To their disappointment, the CATHOLIC Bishop of Quebec, Jean-Olivier Briand, ordered all local clergy to snub them.
When America became independent from Britain, the ANGLICAN denomination began losing membership, as the King was the head of the ANGLICAN Church.
In 1783, the EPISCOPAL Church separated into a daughter denomination from the ANGLICAN Church and ordained its first EPISCOPAL bishop in America, Samuel Seabury.
More U.S. Presidents have been EPISCOPALIAN (11) than any other other denomination.
In 1784, the Vatican allowed CATHOLIC priests in Maryland to submit names to be considered for the position of bishop, with Fr. John Carroll reportedly having the endorsement of Ben Franklin.
In 1789, Fr. John Carroll was approved as the first CATHOLIC bishop in America.
Bishop John Carroll founded Georgetown University.
He wrote:
"Freedom and independence, acquired by ... the mingled blood of PROTESTANT and CATHOLIC fellow-citizens, should be equally enjoyed by all."
President Washington wrote to Bishop John Carroll, March 1790:
"Your fellow-citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment of their Revolution ...
May the members of your society in America, animated alone by the pure spirit of CHRISTIANITY ... enjoy every temporal and spiritual felicity."
At the time of the Revolution, the colonies were around 98 percent PROTESTANT, a little less that 1 percent CATHOLIC, and 1/10th of a percent JEWISH.
CATHOLICS had only been allowed in three colonies: Maryland, Pennsylvania, and to a lesser degree New York.
Bishop John Carroll wrote to Rome in 1790:
"The thirteen provinces of North America rejected the yoke of England, they proclaimed, at the same time, freedom of conscience ...
Before this great event, the CATHOLIC faith had penetrated two provinces only, Maryland and Pennsylvania. In all the others the laws against CATHOLICS were in force ...
By the Declaration of Independence, every difficulty was removed: the CATHOLICS were placed on a level with their fellow-CHRISTIANS, and every political disqualification was done away."
Archbishop John Carroll composed a Prayer for Our Government, 1791:
"We pray, O almighty and eternal God, who through Jesus Christ has revealed thy glory to all nations ...
Assist with your Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness ... encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality.
Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for ... the blessing of equal liberty.
We pray for ... the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may ... discharge the duties ... with honesty and ability.
We recommend ... to your unbounded mercy, all our ... fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law;
that ... after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal ... through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen."
In 1808, after the Louisiana Purchase, John Carroll was made the first Archbishop in the United States.
Bishop John Carroll's older brother, Daniel Carroll, signed the Articles of Confederation, was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and was one of two CATHOLICS to sign the U.S. Constitution.
The other CATHOLIC to sign the U.S. Constitution was Thomas Fitzsimons of Pennsylvania.
Daniel Carroll wanted to limit the power of the Federal Government and proposed in the Congressional debates that the phrase "or to the people" be added to the Tenth Amendment:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, OR TO THE PEOPLE."
Daniel Carroll secured the farms along the Potomac River owned by his brother-in-law and nephew to provide the land upon which the U.S. Capitol is built.
He was one of three commissioners who laid the cornerstone of the District of Columbia.
Daniel Carroll's nephew, Robert Brent, was the first mayor of Washington, D.C., being reappointed by Jefferson and Madison.
George Washington wrote to the Congregation of New Church in Baltimore, Maryland, January 27, 1793:
"Every person may here WORSHIP GOD according to the dictates of his own heart.
In this enlightened Age and in this land of equal liberty it is our boast that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the laws."
In 1776, Maryland's original State Constitution generously granted religious freedom to PROTESTANTS and CATHOLICS:
"ARTICLE 33: That, as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such manner as he thinks most acceptable to him; all persons, professing the CHRISTIAN RELIGION, are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty;
wherefore no person ought by any law to be molested in his person or estate on account of his religious persuasion or profession, or for his religious practice ...
yet the Legislature may, in their discretion, lay a general and equal tax for the support of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION."
Maryland's original 1776 Constitution continued:
"ARTICLE 55. That every person, appointed to any office ... shall ... take the following oath:
I ... do swear, that I do not hold myself bound in allegiance to the King of Great Britain, and that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to the State of Maryland; and shall also subscribe a declaration of his belief in the CHRISTIAN RELIGION."
In 1799, the Maryland Supreme Court stated in the case of Runkel v. Winemiller:
"Religion is of general and public concern, and on its support depend, in great measure, the peace and good order of government, the safety and happiness of the people.
By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing, and are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty.
The principles of the Christian religion ... and its doctrines generally propagated ... (by) places of public worship and teachers and ministers, to explain the Scriptures to the people ...
Pastors, teachers and ministers, of every denomination of Christians, are equally entitled to the protection of the law ...
Every ... minister, of any sect or denomination of Christians, who has been wrongfully dispossessed of his pulpit, is ... to be restored."
In 1835, French political writer Gustave de Beaumont, a contemporary of Alexis de Tocqueville, wrote in, Marie ou L'Esclavage aux E'tas-Unis:
"In the United States, the law is never atheistic ...
All of the American constitutions proclaim freedom of conscience and the liberty and equality of all the confessions ...
... Maryland's Constitution also declares that all of the faiths are free, and that no one is forced to contribute to the maintenance of a particular Church.
However, it gives the legislature the right to establish a general tax ... for the support of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION ...
Maryland Law declares that, to be admitted to public office, it is necessary to be a CHRISTIAN."
In 1851, Maryland's Constitution was amended to allow Jews to hold public office:
"ARTICLE 34. That no other test or qualification ought to be required ... than such oath of office as may be prescribed by this Constitution ... and a declaration of belief in the CHRISTIAN RELIGION;
and if the party shall profess to be a JEW, the declaration shall be of his belief in A FUTURE STATE OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS."
In 1864, Maryland's Constitution was amended to allow anyone who believed in God to hold office:
"ARTICLE 37. That no other test or qualification ought to be required ... than such oath of allegiance ... to this State and the United States ... and a declaration of belief in the CHRISTIAN RELIGION;
or in THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, and in A FUTURE STATE OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS."
In 1867, Maryland's Constitution stated:
"ARTICLE 37. That no religious test ought ever to be required ... other than a declaration of belief in THE EXISTENCE OF GOD."
In 2002, Maryland's Constitution stated:
"ARTICLE 37. That no religious test ought ever to be required ... other than a declaration of belief in THE EXISTENCE OF GOD."
In 1961, Roy Torcaso wanted to be a notary public in Maryland but he was denied as he refused to make "a declaration of belief in the existence of God," as required by Maryland's State Constitution, Article 37.
The case, Torcaso v Watkins (1961), went to the Supreme Court where Justice Hugo Black creatively used the 14th Amendment to usurp jurisdiction of religion away from the States.
He included a footnote which has since been cited authoritatively in subsequent cases, listing "ethical culture" and "secular humanism" as a religions:
"AMONG THE RELIGIONS in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, SECULAR HUMANISM and others."
Supreme Court Justice Scalia wrote in Edwards v. Aguillard (1987):
"In Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488, 495, n. 11 (1961), we did indeed refer to 'SECULAR HUMANISM' as a 'religion.'"
After recognizing SECULAR HUMANISM as a religion, in order to not prefer one religion over another, the courts proceeded to expel God.
Thus, they effectively established SECULAR HUMANISM as the official national religion in violation of the First Amendment's prohibition that the Federal Government: "make no law respecting an establishment of religion "
In 1960, an atheist in Maryland named Madalyn Murray O'Hair sued the Baltimore City Public School System, (Murray v. Curlett), to have Bible reading taken out of public schools, using her 14 year old son, William J. Murray, III, as the plaintiff.
The case went to the Supreme Court where it was combined with the case of Abington Township v. Schempp.
Justice Potter Stewart wrote in the dissenting opinion of Abington Township v. Schempp, 1963:
"The state may not establish a 'religion of secularism' in the sense of affirmatively opposing or showing hostility to religion, thus 'preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe' ...
... Refusal to permit religious exercises thus is seen, not as the realization of state neutrality, but rather as the establishment of a religion of secularism."
U.S. District Court, Crockett v. Sorenson, W.D. Va,. 1983:
"The First Amendment was never intended to insulate our public institutions from any mention of God, the Bible or religion.
When such insulation occurs, another religion, such as SECULAR HUMANISM, is effectively established."
Of note is that in 1995, Madalyn Murray O'Hair was murdered, mutilated, and buried by the felons she had employed.
Her son, William J. Murray, III, became a renown Christian author and speaker. He founded the Religious Freedom Coalition to aid persecuted Christians in Islamic and Communist countries.
He wrote a best-selling book, My Life Without God (2012).
Subsequent to Abington Township (1963), American laws, decisions, and regulations became increasingly hostile to JUDEO-CHRISTIAN beliefs.
This culminated in the 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges gay-marriage decision, which effectively criminalizes those holding the Biblical view of natural marriage; and the 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision, adding gay and transgendered workers to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, condemned the ruling as “preposterous” and betraying “breathtaking” arrogance.
“The position that the Court now adopts will threaten freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and personal privacy and safety. No one should think that the Court’s decision represents an unalloyed victory for individual liberty."
Justice Alito added:
"It is a matter of concern to many people who are reticent about disrobing or using toilet facilities in the presence of individuals whom they regard as members of the opposite sex. For some, this may simply be a question of modesty, but for others, there is more at stake.
For women who have been victimized by sexual assault or abuse, the experience of seeing an unclothed person with the anatomy of a male in a confined and sensitive location such as a bathroom or locker room can cause serious psychological harm.”
Alito explained how the decision may end women's athletics:
“The effect of the Court’s reasoning may be to force young women to compete against students who have a very significant biological advantage, including students who have the size and strength of a male but identify as female and students who are taking male hormones in order to transition from female to male.”
Biblical marriage is defined in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 2:23-24:
"The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called WOMAN, Because she was taken out of MAN.'
For this reason a MAN shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his WIFE; and they shall become one flesh."
Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding, and reaffirmed the Genesis definition of marriage in the Gospel of Mark (10:6-9)
"But from the beginning of creation, God made them MALE and FEMALE.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.
What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
At the time of the country's founding, agendas promoting sex outside of marriage would have been considered "acts of licentiousness."
In the Proceedings of the Maryland State Convention to Frame a New Constitution at Annapolis, November 4, 1850, (p. 250), delegate Mr. Biser stated:
"The liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness."
"Licentiousness" is defined as: unrestrained by morality, promiscuous, unprincipled in sexual matters, disregarding sexual restraints.
With many states now teaching the LGBTQ-transgendered sexual agenda in schools, one is reminded of Jesus' warning in Matthew 18:6 (NIV):
“If anyone causes one of these little ones — those who believe in me — to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
Maryland has gone from its 1649 Toleration Act, where "no person ... professing to believe in JESUS CHRIST shall ... be any ways troubled or molested," to today's LGBTQ agenda, which is effectively a creative way to cut ties with the JUDEO-CHRISTIAN past.
Government's advancement of this agenda through student indoctrination and redefinition of gender bathrooms is effectively an oppression of conscience for those holding the values of the founders.
George Washington wrote to a meeting of Quakers from MARYLAND, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware, October of 1789:
"GOVERNMENT being ... instituted to PROTECT the persons and CONSCIENCES of men from oppression ...
the liberty enjoyed by the People of these States of WORSHIPING ALMIGHTY GOD agreeable to their CONSCIENCES is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights."
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American Minute is a registered trademark of William J. Federer. Permission granted to forward, reprint, or duplicate.
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So sorry I miss this wonderful, positive article 2 years ago, but glad to read it and share it on GETTR now.
God bless you, Mr. Federer! I still remember the days you stayed longer to teach us more as we insisted! (Good old TEA party days!)
Wonderful article . Although I was expecting a mention of Thomas Kennedy and his efforts and eventual success of getting the Jew Bill passed .