In a way, Spain did not expand so much for religion. Yeah, wherever they went they wanted to plant a missionary, but in reality they were only looking for valuable things that they could keep and take away from the other people. The Colonists came to The New World because they wanted to either separate from the Church of England or they did not agree with the opinions expressed in the church. Many states were specifically for certain religions. For example, Maryland was a safe haven for Catholics and the Spanish really never had that.