Question

How is the Toleration act of 1649 that was created by Lord Baltimore important to the colonists back then and us today?

Answer 1

Hint: The freemen of Maryland, USA gathered at the General Assembly in Governor Stone's house in 1649 in order to lay the foundations of sixteen bills regarding the possible approval of newly formed laws for the province. It was passed as “An Act Concerning Religion”. This was known as Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 which created religious freedom for Christian settlers of diverse persuasions in the colony.

Complete answer:
Religious toleration was present in Maryland even before the act. The province was founded by the son of George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore and was a haven for persecuted Catholic. Slowly they accepted Protestants as settlers. In November 1633 The second Lord Baltimore created a set of instructions to the governors and commissioners which warned his Catholic and Protestant colonists that, if they are leaving for the New World, no offense will be taken in other aspects of religion. In 1649 , the freemen approved the Toleration Act Concerning Religion part of which stated that, "no person or persons whatsoever within this province that are professing to believe in Jesus Christ shall from henceforth be in any ways troubled, molested, or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion, nor in the free exercise thereof.” Hence it became a free will for any sort of religious actions in the land. People were allowed to believe in a religion of their choice.

Note: The toleration act inspired similar legislation in other colonies and parts of it were echoed in the writing of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which enshrined religious freedom in American law, as the first law on religious equality in British North America.