The Portuguese and Spanish colonies were eminently Catholic because the metropolises were Catholic (Spain was the most conservative and reactionary bastion of Catholicism in Europe, the craddle of Counterreformation), and Reformation and Protestants were fought and excluded in the 16th century. Meanwhile, most English settlers in the New World were believers of the Protestant faith and many of them had left England for religious purposes; their versions of Protestantism were stricter than the official practice of the Anglican Church.
Gathering information is another thinking skill. In history you can never jump to conclusions. You must first ask a question about something on the historical timeline. The next step is to research and gather information about the topic. At the end you can draw a final conclusion.
