Colonists/ from Spain, France, Holland, England,/ and other countries/ came to America/ for many different reasons./ One of the reasons was/ religious freedom./ The rulers/ of many of these countries told/ their citizens that/ they must go to a certain church/ and worship in a certain way./ Some people had/ different religious beliefs/ than their rulers/ and wanted to have/ their own churches./

In 1620,/ the Pilgrims were/ the first group that/ came to America/ seeking religious freedom./ Religious freedom was also important/ to the Framers./ For this reason,/ freedom of religion was included/ in the Constitution/ as part of the Bill of Rights./

The First Amendment/ to the Constitution guarantees/ freedom of religion./ The First Amendment states,/ “Congress shall make/ no law/ respecting an establishment of religion,/ or prohibiting the free exercise/ thereof./” The First Amendment also prohibits/ Congress/ from setting up/ an official U.S. religion,/ and protects citizens’ rights/ to hold any religious belief,/ or none at all./