At the founding of the English colonies in North America, Europe was almost entirely Christian. In the southern countries of Italy, Spain, and Portugal, Catholicism was the dominant religion. Further north in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and England, there were many different forms of Protestantism. The English that settled in the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and others were Protestants. They built protestant churches and wrote laws that were influenced by their Protestantism. Over time, Christianity and religion in general in the United States has become far more diverse. The church shown here is an Episcopalian Church located in Washington DC. The Episcopalian Church is the name used in the US for the Church of England.