A foundation in the development of colonial America was the right to religious freedom. Ironically this ideology led to Anne Hutchinson's exile and excommunication from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Puritan church, however she and her followers immigrated to Rhode Island and continued to practice their beliefs. Her deviation from the Puritan belief that salvation is earned by "good works" and claiming that salvation comes from "the grace of God" drew attention to her weekly women's Bible studies. She stood firm in her beliefs and challenged leaders and governor Puritans, which was forbidden to women living in this era. Puritan women were not allowed to speak or think for themselves, yet Anne Hutchinson chose to fervently express her beliefs. admission to heaven created a following that threatened Puritan ideas and would eventually lead to a new Protestant doctrine. Anne Hutchinson was born in Alford, England in 1591 by Bridget Dryden, a teacher, and Frances Marbury, a minister. She received education at home from her parents and they wanted to ensure that their children, especially girls, received an education equivalent to that provided to boys in that era. . Reading the religious books in his father's library, he discovered more questions than the books provided answers. Because of this extensive education, he was not afraid to question the Church's authority in details of doctrine. She married William Hutchinson when she was 21 and they began following John Cotton, a leading English Puritan, who was a minister. .... half of the paper ... was paid for the opportunity to openly express our opinions both politically and religiously. Works Cited Foster, Warren Dunham. Heroines of modern religion. “Anne Hutchinson.” Freeport New York: Libraries Press. 1970. Print.Jacobs, William Jay. Great lives, human rights. New York New York: Simon and Schuster. 1990. Print.LaPlante, Eve (2004). American Jezebel, the unusual life of Anne Hutchinson, the woman who defied the Puritans. San Francisco: HarperCollins. 2003. Print.Morgan, Edward. The Puritan Dilemma. “Trial and Interrogation of Anne Hutchinson (1637)” http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/30-hut.html. Network. February 1, 2014 Winthrop, John. “Winthrop's Journal “History of New England” 1630-1649. vol. I. New York: Children of Charles Scribner. 1908 http://www.archive.org/details/winthropsjournal00wint. Network. February 1 2014