Reader's view: Practical concerns drove religious diversity

A letter June 21, “Study history to see need for religious freedom,” contained errors of fact.
While it is true George Calvert, First Lord Baltimore, did intend Maryland as a haven for Catholics, by the time a royal charter was issued in 1632 by Charles I, Calvert had died, and so his son Cecil Calvert, Second Lord Baltimore, obtained the charter as royal proprietor. The colony was named not for the Virgin, but in honor of Henriette Marie of France and Queen consort of Charles I.
Since Calvert knew he would need a large number of colonists to ensure the success of his venture, he could not rely on Catholics alone and advertised for colonists for two years between the charter grant in 1632 and the actual sailing of the Ark and the Dove to Maryland in 1634, an event commemorated annually on March 25. To establish a specifically Catholic colony would not have been permitted by the Crown or parliament, but the grant was modeled after a charter given to the Bishop of Durham by Henry VIII and allowed wide latitude for the proprietor, who could not on his own build anything but Anglican churches, but was not required to do so and could allow others to build their own churches.
So the letter was correct that religious toleration is embedded in Maryland’s history by Cecil Calvert’s Declaration of 1633, but Quakers and Methodists also had numerous and prominent settlers during the proprietary period.
Maryland has a proud history of toleration that dates to its founding, but the reasons for toleration were both religious and practical, and the example of that toleration significantly would influence the writing of the Constitution, making Maryland a key state in its construction and adoption.
J. Craig Scherf
Duluth
The writer researches and writes regularly for the publications of historical societies and is secretary of the Friends of the Superior Public Library.