Every Protestant in England had at least one "embarrassing" Catholic family member including Anglican bishops and Protestant members of Parliament. The most "embarrassed" were the ones who's family member was a priest, most notably a Jesuit.
The fight about religion centered around the monarch thinking that he or she owned everyone's consciences. It was a tremendous problem. Thomas More said that he was uncomfortable pinning his conscience onto another man's back for fear that he did not know where that person would take it.
Another thing -- Maryland was not set up as a Catholic colony. It was a colony designed to allow everyone to worship according to their own conscience with no interference from the government.
The only law concerning religion was that there were to be no fights that disturbed the peace. Both parties caught fighting about religion would be fined in tobacco.
Maryland was not a theocracy until the Anglican church took over the colony.
Just after the signing of the Constitution and the election of George Washington as the first president, all of the founders and their wives were invited to hear James Wilson give a set of lectures where he explained what they had just done for the country. In Wilson's very first lecture he credited George Calvert, the founder of Maryland, with providing the example of true freedom of religion.
Thanks. Very interesting.
Quite intereesting. Thanks for posting it.