[sitetest]

Dear wideawake,

“They were, but Catholics were greatly influential in the colony and were represented at the signing of the Declaration.”

Only one Catholic signed the Declaration, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, out of four Maryland signers. This wasn't an over-representation of the Catholic population of Maryland at the time. Carroll represented Maryland IN SPITE of his Catholicism, not because of it.

sitetest

[Verginius Rufus]

One of the signers of the Constitution was a Catholic--Daniel Carroll of Maryland.

I believe Pennsylvania was the most hospitable colony for Catholics and members of other unpopular faiths.

[wideawake]

This wasn't an over-representation of the Catholic population of Maryland at the time.

In other words, you are telling me that Maryland was more than 25% Catholic, while another poster is informing me that they were less than 8% of the MD population.

Which was it?

A colony whose government was rabidly anti-Catholic would surely not allow a Catholic to represent them in the Continental Congress - unless those who supported resistance and independence in the colony were precisely those colonists who were less bigoted against Catholics than the colony's general population.