Topic: Religious Freedom

John Winthrop the Younger used his political influence to protect the Pequot tribe from the Mohegans and their Puritan supporters. He fought to restore the tribe's land and original names after they were subjected to atrocities. Upon his death, even the staunch Puritan Cotton Mather eulogized him as "Hermes Christianus," suggesting a complex relationship between early American Christianity and hermetic traditions that is often overlooked in modern history.

Two primary theories explain the institutional persistence of circumcision: medical liability and religious protection. The American Academy of Pediatrics may avoid condemning the practice to prevent massive malpractice lawsuits from previously circumcised men. Additionally, some religious groups may fear that a ban on medical circumcision would eventually lead to restrictions on religious practices.

Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams and others fleeing the religious tyranny of the Massachusetts colony, establishing the first real precedents for religious liberty in the New World. This history of alternative spiritualities and radical thought is often suppressed by both the political left and right to maintain a simplified view of the American past. Williams famously argued that "forced worship stinks in the nostrils of God."