The Toleration Act passed on April 21, 1649 granted freedom of worship to nearly all Protestants but not to Catholics and Jews.
King Henry the eighth ?
A royal charter to found a colony was granted to the English Catholic nobleman, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore in 1632. The earliest settlers of the Maryland colony included both Catholics and Protestants, but Catholics held the key positions in colony government.
Religion in Maryland in the 1700s was characterized by religious tolerance due to the 1649 Maryland Toleration Act, which allowed for freedom of worship for Christians. The colony had a significant Catholic population, as it was founded as a haven for Catholics, but Protestants also had a strong presence. There were tensions between Catholics and Protestants, and the 1704 establishment of the Church of England as the official religion led to restrictions on Catholic rights.
In England, the Toleration act was granted by Parliament and approved by the Crown in 1689 to grant toleration to Trinitarian Christians, it purposely did not apply to Catholics, nontrinitarians and atheists. In Maryland a similar Act was passed in 1649, along the same lines, only applying to Trinitarian Christians - but not Catholics. In 1712 Scotland passed a similar act to allow greater freedom to Anglicans.
The Puritans were granted the right of public worship under the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, which permitted freedom of worship for all Trinitarian Christians but not for Catholics. This act reflected the Puritans' desire for religious freedom while still maintaining restrictions against Catholicism.
Maryland was the only colony where Catholics were free to worship without fear of persecution.
Catholics do not worship saints, the Blessed Virgin, idols or the pope. They worship only God. Now that is a crazy fact that many Protestants will contest but a fact nonetheless.
Toleration Act of 1689
Maryland Constitution
Because that time, Catholics could not worship freely in England.
Lord Calvert, the 2nd Earl of Baltimore founded Maryland.