The 1600s to the mid 1700s was a time of change for colonial regions in the New World. At this time, religion played a large role in shaping the political, social and economic development of colonial regions. Such regions include New England, New Spain and the Southern Colonies. Religion shaped the development of these regions for years to come in terms of social classes, labor force, and governing structure. Religion benefitted social and economic development of the Southern Colonies, New Spain and New England though not as significantly in political development.

Social development in the colonial regions was heavily influenced by religion. Puritan New England saw the lives of people centered strictly around the church. Education was also extremely important to Puritans, having established the first school in America, due to being able to read the bible. Another region that was affected by religion, more precisely Roman Catholicism,  was New Spain. Spain’s intent of spreading Roman Catholicism by rapid colonization led to the creation of social classes in areas containing natives. Pure Spaniards stood on top of the social class while mestizos were in the middle. At the bottom, stood pure natives. The Southern Colonies saw an impact from religion as well. Due to being Anglican, cultural ties with England were close and strict social classes existed, much like the feudalist one of England. Social classes included the upper class made up of wealthy farmers, the middle class made up of poor but free white men, and the lower class which consisted of indentured servants.

Economic development of the colonial regions was also affected by religion. In New England, the Puritans strictly believed anything that occurred naturally was the choice of God. Due to this, Puritans had an unmatched work ethic even when times looked tough and goals seemed impossible. This work ethic allowed New England to strive in terms of trade and output of labor. On the other hand, New Spain’s economic success was due to the vast amount of natives that were put into mines during colonization to spread Roman Catholicism. Finally, Anglicanism in the Southern Colonies caused a system to form similar to the feudalist system of England. With this system, indentured servants worked for rich farmer to produce crops in large yields.

Political development in the colonial regions was heavily influenced, but not entirely in a beneficial manner, by religion. During the mid 1600s, Puritans arrived in New England and therefore began making an impact on the lives of Native Americans and Pilgrims in the area. Puritans were very strict and followed the word of God purely. Due to this, town leaders were only men and limited in power by their beliefs. This limit in power was due to the puritans belief that God is the most powerful and mortals must not have a say in power hungry tasks. Due to this, Puritans in New England affected governing of the region by relying on God’s word which was not an efficient form of ruling. New Spain was another region which had its political development shaped by religion. Throughout the 1500s, Spain quickly became a world power by gaining large amounts of land in the New World. One reason for doing so was to increase the influence of Roman Catholicism, Spain’s primary religion. Spain conquered the natives of Central America and made Catholicism the only religion in the region, forcing the natives to convert and therefore increasing the power of Spain. Lastly, the Southern Colonies saw an impact by religion on political development. Due to being mostly Anglican, the south had closer cultural ties with England. An example is that the south contained landlords who owned slaves that worked on their land. This is similar to feudalism in England when serfs worked on the lands of their master. Overall, the impact of religion was pervasive in New England but beneficial in New Spain and the Southern Colonies.