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Difficulty: EasyNew England Colonies

This excerpt is from a seventeenth-century document:

'God requireth not a uniformity of religion to be enacted and enforced in any civil state; which enforced uniformity (sooner or later) is the greatest occasion of civil war, ravishing of conscience... and hypocrisy...'
— Roger Williams, *The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution*, 1644

The ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly challenged which of the following prevailing practices in seventeenth-century New England?

  1. A
    The economic reliance on large-scale cash-crop agriculture
  2. B
    The extensive deployment of indentured servants for labor
  3. The enforcement of religious conformity to maintain social orderAnswer
  4. D
    The regulation of colonial shipping to benefit the mother country

Answer

The correct answer is the option stating that Williams challenged the enforcement of religious conformity to maintain social order.
The correct answer is correct because New England Puritan society was built on the principle of religious uniformity, where civil laws enforced religious conformity and church membership was required for political participation. Roger Williams advocated for religious freedom and the separation of church and state, directly challenging this close relationship between church and colonial government.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document by Roger Williams.
Identify that Williams is arguing against 'uniformity of religion' being enforced by a 'civil state.'
To understand the core argument of the author regarding religion and government.
2
Identify the historical context of seventeenth-century New England colonies.
Recognize that Puritan leaders enforced strict religious conformity and blended religious and civil authority.
To connect the document's argument to the prevailing practices of the target region.
3
Determine which colonial practice is directly challenged by Williams's argument.
Conclude that his ideas directly challenged the requirement of religious conformity, leading to the selection of the correct option.
To select the option that matches the analysis of the stimulus and historical context.

Key Concept

Puritan religious conformity and dissent in New England
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Topics

New England Colonies

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