Summarize this into 1 to 2 paragraphs please, WORTH 20 points In the 1600s, English colonists began settling in North America. At the time, this area was known as the New World. Many people moved because of their religion. In Europe, they had faced religious persecution. They were treated badly because of their faith. Some of the early American colonies allowed freedom of religion. Others did not. In the end, the people of the United States chose to protect religious freedom. Lawmakers passed the First Amendment to the Constitution. In 1492, explorer Christopher Columbus reached the New World. Martin Luther was a religious reformer. In 1517, he started the Protestant Reformation. Many Europeans broke away from the Catholic Church. They adopted a new form of Christianity called Protestantism. A religious split took place in England. Many Englishmen turned against the Church of England. They wanted to be able to practice their own religion. This was not possible in England, where there was no separation between the church and the government. These Englishmen became known as the Pilgrim Fathers. They founded the Plymouth Colony in 1620.Another group of Protestants also moved to the New World. They were known as the Puritans. In 1630, they founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans created a government controlled by religious leaders. Voting was limited to church members. Non-Puritans were removed from the colony. One of the people removed from the colony was Roger Williams. He believed in freedom of religion. In 1636, Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island. It became a safe place for Quakers, Jews and other non-Puritans. In the 1700s, a new way of thinking arose in Europe. It was called the Enlightenment. One of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment was John Locke. He spoke up for freedom of religion. Locke's ideas would have a great influence on the leaders of the American Revolution.