A Bible Commonwealth is a term used to describe colonies such as

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its northern and sout ...

and

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, during the majority of the early North American Colonial Period due to Christian Scripture's strong influence on policy and life. Locally, these communities would pass

blue laws Blue laws (also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws, and Sunday closing laws) are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons ...

, which are laws which made citizens act in accord to the Bible. An example of a blue law might be the prohibition of consuming recreational alcohol on Sundays or a ban on organized sporting events taking place on Sundays. Scripture was the basis of authority for a substantial number of criminal statues in these colonies.

References

History of Christianity in the United States {{christianity-hist-stub