Who Are the People of Rhode Island?
Roger Williams landing on the shores of Rhode Island in search of religious freedom.
- We are people of many faiths who have built a society around the premise of religious freedom for all!
- We serve as a home and refuge for those who come from persecuted sects.
- Rhode Islanders welcome people of all faiths.
America's first Baptist church was formed in Providence, Rhode Island in 1639.
Quakers came to Rhode Island in 1657. The Great Friends Meeting House above, built in 1699, is the oldest surviving house of worship in Rhode Island. Quakers are the most influential of Newport’s numerous early congregations. They are a powerful voice in the political and economic life of the colony.
A Jewish congregation came to Newport in 1658. They built what is currently the oldest synagogue in America, the Touro Synagogue.
The first fifteen Jewish families came from Barbados, where a Jewish community had existed since the 1620s. They were originally from Spain and Portugal. Their congregation is known as Yeshuat Israel and is the second oldest Jewish Congregation in America. By 1677, the Newport community purchased land for a Jewish cemetery. Two of the original immigrants, Mordechai Campanal and Moses Israel Paehe, purchased the lot that was used for the building of the Touro Synagogue.
The first fifteen Jewish families came from Barbados, where a Jewish community had existed since the 1620s. They were originally from Spain and Portugal. Their congregation is known as Yeshuat Israel and is the second oldest Jewish Congregation in America. By 1677, the Newport community purchased land for a Jewish cemetery. Two of the original immigrants, Mordechai Campanal and Moses Israel Paehe, purchased the lot that was used for the building of the Touro Synagogue.
Even though Rhode Island is a model of religious tolerance, the Touro Synagogue has a trapped door next to the bima to be used in emergencies.
- Rhode Island welcomed French Huguenots (Calvinists) who settled in East Greenwich in 1686.