Maryland passed the second religious tolerance laws in the British colonies in 1649. It concerned only trinitarian Christians, but the sole goal was to settle things between Catholics and Protestants. (Rhode Island had passed the first in 1636). It was also the first law to set limits on hate speech in the world. I find it interesting that Maryland had laws against hate speech some 360+ years ago.
…no person or persons…professing to believe in Jesus Christ, shall from henceforth be anyways troubled, Molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof within this Province…
—Maryland Toleration Act, 1649
It also outlawed words like “heretic” and other religious insults.
The law was repealed in 1654 by the commissioners set by Cromwell to make Maryland Protestant, but as soon as Lord Baltimore regained control in 1658 after the English Civil War ended, the law was re-instated. Maryland had been settled as a Catholic colony, and the Calvert family was Catholic, but they had no issue with other Christians and the practice of the Protestant faith. The Protestants on the other hand, seemed to have a major issue with the Catholic faith.
1688 following the Glorious Revolution in England (when they replaced King James II with a very Protestant William of Orange) – Maryland lost it charter and the Maryland Toleration Act was repealed permanently. The Church of England became Maryland’s official church in 1702 (remember Maryland is now under Crown rule) and Catholics were banned from voting in 1718. The Calvert family did regain control of Maryland in 1715, but only because they had converted to Protestantism. Religious freedoms were not put back in place until after the American Revolution.
The Act is significant in that it pre-dates the Age of Enlightenment, and was basically one of the very first guarantees of religious tolerance in British history. While it didn’t guarantee religious freedom for all, and included some very severe limitations, it was a step in the right direction during a time of non-tolerance.
Look at the phrase above “in the free exercise thereof” and then look at the 1st Amendment.
Baltimore Through My Eyes 