1633-1699: Women, Religion, & Society in the Maryland Colony

St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in St. Mary's City    In 1634, the ships the Ark & the Dove landed on the shores of Maryland carrying more than 100 English Catholics & Protestants, led by the Catholic Leonard Calvert (1606-1647). Peter Friesen, director of education at the St. Mary's living history museum tells the story. The newcomers settled in a fort & gradually built a town they called St. Mary’s City.  

That 1st group of colonists included Jesuit Fathers Andrew White (1579-1656) & John Altham  (1589-1640). Archaeologists tell us that at first, they used an old witchott, a type of Native American dwelling, to celebrate Mass, then a wooden chapel, then a cruciform brick chapel with windows & a stone floor. But the building survived for only a few decades. The foundation of the original brick chapel was discovered in 1938, & more than 50 years later was excavated by archaeologists. The rebuilt chapel, called St. Cecilia's Church, was in the style of other Jesuit churches of the early colonial era.

In the late 1680s, England’s Glorious Revolution replaced a Catholic ruler with the staunchly Protestant cousins King William (1650-1702) & Queen Mary (1662-1694). Soon, Maryland was no longer controlled by the Catholic Calvert family but instead became a royal colony where the Church of England was the state religion. In 1695, Francis Nicholson, (1655–1728) the royal governor, moved the capital to Annapolis.

In 1704, the Maryland legislature passed the “Act to Prevent the Growth of Popery,” which banned Catholics from voting or holding office; taxed them twice; & only allowed them to worship in their homes. The St. Mary’s City sheriff locked the old brick chapel, so that it could no longer be used for worship. Then the Jesuits took the chapel apart brick by brick & used the bricks to rebuild a different chapel on private property, that they owned at St. Inigoes, which is 5 to 6 miles south of St. Mary’s City & is now part of a military base. To replace the loss of churches, in the early 1700s, Catholics began to add “Mass rooms” to their homes.  But in less than100 years, the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of The United States of America enshrined freedom of religion as a fundamental American right. 

See: Mairist, Zoey. "Unearthing Maryland’s Catholic past at St. Mary’s City." The Arlington Catholic Hrrald. March 22, 2022.

Religion and Society in the Maryland Colony

 An Examination of Religious Influence, Settler Origins, and Women's Roles

Introduction

In 1633, the Catholic Calvert family, led by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, founded the Maryland Colony. Maryland stood out among the English colonies as a haven for English Catholics. However, religious dynamics in Maryland evolved significantly between 1632 and 1699, with the colony becoming home to a diverse array of Christian denominations. This essay examines the dominant religions in Maryland during this period, the origins and motivations of its settlers, the expectations placed on women by these religious frameworks, and the roles women held in governance.

Dominant Religions in Maryland (1632-1699)

Maryland, originally established as a refuge for Catholics, transformed into a religiously diverse colony over the course of the 17th century. Roman Catholicism dominated the colony from 1633 to the late 17th century, reflecting the Calverts’ Catholic faith and their desire to create a sanctuary for Catholics in the New World. However, the influx of Protestant settlers, particularly Anglicans and Puritans, dramatically changed Maryland’s religious landscape and led to tensions over religious control.

Catholics in Maryland practiced their faith privately, often in chapels attached to manorial estates, due to the colony’s religious pluralism and the growing dominance of Protestantism. Meanwhile, the Protestant population, which included Anglicans, Puritans, and Quakers, expanded rapidly. Anglicans, following the Church of England, emphasized the sacraments and the use of the Book of Common Prayer. Puritans sought to “purify” the Church of England, adhering to a strict interpretation of the Bible. Quakers, known for their pacifism and belief in the "Inner Light," practiced a form of Christianity that rejected formal clergy and sacraments. Religious tensions culminated in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, after which the Anglican Church became the official religion of Maryland in 1692, effectively marginalizing Catholics.

Origins of the Settlers

Most of Maryland’s early settlers were English Catholics, primarily from wealthy or gentry families who sought to escape religious persecution in Protestant England. Lord Baltimore envisioned Maryland as a place where Catholics could practice their faith freely and where religious tolerance would be the law of the land. To attract settlers and ensure the colony's economic viability, the Calverts also welcomed Protestant settlers, offering generous land grants.

By the 1640s, Protestant settlers outnumbered Catholics, leading to political and religious conflicts. Puritans clashed with the Catholic leadership, briefly overthrowing the proprietary government in 1654 during the English Civil War. After the Glorious Revolution, Protestant control solidified, and Catholics faced increased restrictions.

Religious Expectations of Women (1632-1699)

Religious expectations for women in Maryland varied depending on their religious affiliation, but certain overarching themes were consistent across the colony. Religious authorities expected women to conform to patriarchal norms, emphasizing their roles as wives, mothers, and caretakers of the household.

In the Catholic tradition, women were expected to be pious, modest, and obedient to male authority. The Church promoted the Virgin Mary as the ideal model for women, emphasizing values of purity, motherhood, and self-sacrifice. Catholic women in Maryland participated in religious life through private devotions, such as praying the Rosary, and through charitable works. Despite their spiritual importance, the Church excluded Catholic women from formal leadership roles, reserving those positions for male clergy.

Protestant denominations in Maryland, particularly Anglicans and Puritans, also reinforced traditional gender roles. They expected women to manage the household, raise children in the faith, and support their husbands. Protestant theology, especially Puritanism, emphasized a woman’s role in ensuring the moral and spiritual health of her family. Like their Catholic counterparts, Protestant women were largely confined to the domestic sphere and had limited public religious roles, although Quaker women had more opportunities for active participation in their religious communities due to the sect’s more egalitarian beliefs.

Women's Roles in Governance (1632-1699)

In the Maryland Colony, women did not hold formal roles in governance, reflecting the broader patriarchal structure of the time. Both Catholic and Protestant leadership dominated the political landscape, excluding women from voting, holding office, or participating in formal political processes.

However, the proprietary government allowed for some social mobility and economic participation, occasionally affording women influence, particularly in legal and business matters. For example, wealthy widows who inherited land or businesses could exercise economic power, though their influence in governance remained indirect. The legal doctrine of coverture, which subsumed a married woman’s legal identity under her husband’s, further limited women’s formal roles in society.

Catholic women sometimes exerted influence through their connections to powerful Catholic families, but these instances were exceptions rather than the rule. Overall, society expected women in Maryland to focus on their domestic duties, with their public roles restricted by both religious and social norms.

Conclusion

Between 1632 and 1699, the Maryland Colony evolved from a haven for Catholics into a religiously diverse and conflict-ridden society. Roman Catholicism initially dominated the colony, but Protestantism, particularly Anglicanism, gained ascendancy by the end of the 17th century. Maryland’s settlers, primarily from England, sought religious freedom, economic opportunity, and land. Religious expectations for women reinforced traditional gender roles, confining them to the domestic sphere and limiting their public and political participation. As a result, women held no formal role in governance, with political and religious power concentrated in the hands of men. The intersection of religion, gender, and governance in Maryland reveals the colony’s complex social dynamics and the shifting religious landscape of the 17th century.

Bibliography

Books:

Browne, William Hand. George Calvert and Cecilius Calvert, Barons Baltimore of Baltimore: A Sketch of Colonial Times. Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1890.

Brodsky, Alyn. Benjamin Franklin: A Man of Many Talents. Truman Talley Books, 2004.

Brugger, Robert J. Maryland: A Middle Temperament, 1634-1980. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.

Horn, James. Adapting to a New World: English Society in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

Krugler, John D. English and Catholic: The Lords Baltimore in the Seventeenth Century. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.

Articles:

Brennan, Richard P. "Maryland’s Religious Toleration Act of 1649: A Legislative Analysis." The Maryland Historical Magazine, vol. 75, no. 4, 1980, pp. 420-439.

Carr, Lois Green. "The Metropolis of Maryland: A Study of Urban Growth and Development in the Colonial Chesapeake." The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 3, 1964, pp. 199-224.

Hardy, Beatriz Betancourt. “Papists in a Protestant Age: The Catholic Gentry and Community in Colonial Maryland, 1689-1776.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 4, 1999, pp. 723-748.

Hall, David D. "Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practice." American Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 3, 1991, pp. 455-478.

Menard, Russell R. "From Servant to Freeholder: Status Mobility and Property Accumulation in Seventeenth-Century Maryland." The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 1, 1973, pp. 37-64.

Riordan, Timothy B. "The Plundering Time: Maryland’s First Civil War, 1645-1647." Maryland Historical Magazine, vol. 94, no. 2, 1999, pp. 133-163.

Rushforth, Brett. "Slavery, the Fox Wars, and the Limits of Alliance." The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 1, 2006, pp. 53-80.

Walsh, Lorena S. "Servitude and Opportunity in Colonial Maryland." Agricultural History, vol. 52, no. 2, 1978, pp. 335-350.