How did the different religious factions of Colonial America affect society? Many different religious sects developed distrust and hatred among the people. Local communities warred with one other in order to enforce their religious beliefs and practices, making unity between the North and South difficult to achieve. Different religious beliefs had virtually no effect in Colonial America, since religion didn't play a big part in American society. There were small sects of religious groups scattered about the colonies, but none of them were large enough to be of any importance. Because Colonial America had so many different religious sects, people were more tolerant of religious beliefs. Since no one religion could claim a majority, there was no way to create a national religion effectively.