Religious Diversity and Tolerance in America

The United States has always been a remarkably diverse nation. Before the American Revolution, believers of many different Christian denominations had settled in North America, generally in the hope of finding a place to worship as they chose. The Framers who wrote the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights well understood the importance of religious freedom, enshrining it in the First Amendment to the Constitution. In part, the Framers feared that religion could prove very destructive if injected into American politics, because they were familiar with the history of conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Europe. They also believed in the importance of allowing individuals to decide matters of faith for themselves, instead of being compelled to join or support a particular church. They further understood that religious faith could have beneficial effects on American life, furnishing one of the key sources of citizens' moral understanding of right and wrong.

Alexis de Tocqueville immediately noted the importance of religion in America. As he wrote, "Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention." Tocqueville further noted that in Europe he had always considered religion as an impediment to freedom, "but in America I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country."