Did the Colonists Really Flee Catholic Oppression?
Revisiting a Common American Myth
If you grew up hearing the story of America’s founding, you probably learned that the early colonists fled to the New World in search of religious freedom, escaping persecution from the tyrannical rule of Catholic Europe. It’s a compelling narrative—one that fits neatly into America’s broader Protestant identity. But there’s just one problem: it isn’t true.
The reality is that most of the colonists who came to America were fleeing Protestant England, not Catholic Europe. Their oppressor wasn’t the Pope but the Church of England, the officially established Protestant church that demanded religious conformity and punished dissenters.
The Real Story: Persecution Under Protestant England
By the 17th century, England was a firmly Protestant nation. Henry VIII had broken from Rome in the 1500s, and after a brief return to Catholicism under Mary I (“Bloody Mary”), the English Crown had cemented itself as the head of the national church. But while England was no longer Catholic, it was not a land of religious liberty.
Many Christian groups—Puritans, Separatists (Pilgrims), Quakers, Baptists, and even Catholics—found themselves persecuted for their beliefs. The Anglican Church was the only legally recognized church, and refusing to conform could mean fines, imprisonment, or even execution.
The Puritans sought to “purify” the Church of England from what they saw as lingering Catholic influences. But when their reforms were rejected, they faced persecution and ultimately fled to America, establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Ironically, they did not extend religious freedom to others—dissenters in Puritan colonies often found themselves banished or worse.
The Pilgrims (Separatists) went even further, believing the Church of England was beyond reform. They initially fled to the Netherlands and later made their way to Plymouth in 1620.
The Quakers rejected the rigid hierarchy of the Anglican Church, believing in an inner light that guided each individual. They were brutally persecuted in England and in some American colonies, with several even being executed in Puritan-controlled Massachusetts.
Catholics, despite being a small minority, were also unwelcome. Maryland was founded as a haven for Catholics, but once Protestants gained control, they passed strict anti-Catholic laws.
So Why Do We Think They Were Fleeing Catholicism?
If the early colonists were mostly escaping Protestant oppression, why does the myth of fleeing “Catholic tyranny” persist? A few reasons:
English Propaganda Shaped American Identity – England had long defined itself as Protestant and anti-Catholic. The idea that Catholicism was synonymous with tyranny and Protestantism with freedom became deeply ingrained in English and, later, American culture.
The Protestant-Catholic Wars Were Still Fresh – England had been at war with Catholic France and Spain for centuries, and the Protestant Reformation cast Catholicism as the enemy of religious and political freedom. The American colonists inherited this perspective, even though their real struggles were with Protestant rulers.
The Quebec Act Fueled Anti-Catholic Sentiment – Just before the American Revolution, Britain passed the Quebec Act (1774), which granted religious freedom to Catholics in Canada. This outraged many Protestant colonists, who saw it as a sign that Britain was siding with Catholicism. This fear reinforced the idea that Catholicism was inherently hostile to liberty.
Later Catholic Immigration Revived the Myth – In the 19th and early 20th centuries, large waves of Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and Italy arrived in the U.S. Protestant Americans, many of whom traced their ancestry back to the Puritans, saw these new Catholic arrivals as a threat to American values. The idea that America had always been a Protestant refuge reinforced anti-Catholic discrimination.
A More Honest Look at Religious Freedom
The reality is that America’s founding was much more complicated than the simple idea of “fleeing Catholic oppression.” The colonists were primarily seeking freedom for themselves, not necessarily for all. Many, like the Puritans, created strict religious societies where dissent was not tolerated. Others, like the Quakers and Roger Williams in Rhode Island, promoted a broader vision of religious freedom that would later influence the First Amendment.
Understanding this history helps us appreciate how religious liberty developed over time. It also challenges us to move beyond myths and recognize that true freedom means protecting the rights of all people, not just those who share our beliefs.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to reduce history to simple narratives, but reality is often far more complex. The early American colonists weren’t fleeing Catholic Europe—they were fleeing Protestant England. Yet, centuries of anti-Catholic sentiment reshaped this story to fit a broader Protestant-American identity. Recognizing this helps us see religious freedom not as something handed down from the start, but as a hard-won principle that took time to develop.
