The supposed immigration of people to the Americas for
freedom of religion is also a crock. For example, the "Puritans" in New England wanted freedom to practice their fanatical religious views but god help you if you wanted to pray some other way. They routinely whipped and hanged Unitarians and other heretics, burned "witches" at the stake, passed laws requiring church attendance, etc. Their influence is still felt in the US State of Massachusetts with “blue” laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Catholics were also persecuted in the colonies except for Maryland which was set up for them (but later they were persecuted there anyway). If you were Jewish most anywhere you were persecuted.

Ahh, the freedom and peace brought to all of us by organized religion.
(MichaelS wasn't picked again, Tue 24 Mar 2009, 13:17, Reply)