jan 1, 1649 - Maryland Toleration Act

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After years of struggle between the Protestant planter class and the Catholic elite, Maryland adopted an Act Concerning Religion, which institutionalized the principle of toleration that had prevailed from the colony’s beginning. All Christians were guaranteed the “free exercise” of religion. Although the Act did not grant this right to non-Christians, it did, over time, bring some political stability to Maryland. The law was also a milestone in the history of religious freedom in colonial America.

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