{{summary | text=The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the [[New England]] region of the northeastern [[United States]]. Its major city is [[Boston]]. It was initially founded by [[Puritans ]] but today Protestants make up less than one-third of the state's population. [[Around half the population is [[Roman Catholic] because of immigration from [[Ireland]], [[Quebec]], [[Italy]], [[Portugal]], and [[Puerto Rico]]. In recent years there has been a strong advocacy of [[gay marriage]] in this state.}}