TITLE: Was Roger Williams an Extremist or a Fighter for Freedom and Equality?
April R. Mcclary
Liberty University
A Research Paper Proposal in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for CHHI 665
Dr. David Goza
Liberty University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………3
THESIS STATEMENT……………………………………………………………………5
BODY……………………………………………………………………………………….5
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………..11
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………….14-15
INTRODUCTION & THESIS STATEMENT
“Forthly the doctrine of persecution for cause of conscience is proved guilty of all the
Blood of the souls crying for vengeance under the alter.” 1 Those are the famous words that
Roger Williams stated in his book “A Plea for Religious Liberty (1644)”. Williams a well-
known Protestant who was once a Separatist, Purist, and eventually a Baptist, was a strong
advocate for religion, freedom, speech, and justice. He also was a great supporter of the
separation of church and state. In response to his discontent with the Church of England Roger,
wrote about his unhappiness in his book. A lot of his anger came from the many people who
were unfairly kicked out of the church, or lost their lives, due to the fact that they stood up to the
Church of England.
The church knew that Roger, was already a force to be reckoned with because of his
strong and sometimes controversial ideas. He was a strong separatist and he was also an
abolitionist who wanted change within the Church of England. If the need arise he would go to
great lengths to achieve it. In his book “On Religious Liberty: Selections from the works of
Roger Williams” Byrd talks about James’s great determination to see justice for all he states “But
what makes William essential to the American tradition of religious liberty is not just that he was
the first to argue for such liberty, but that in many ways his vision of religious liberty was
superior to the one we have inherited from the Enlightment.”2 The reason for Williams’s
argument was the fact that the Church of England was being led astray by not only corrupted
leaders, but also misguided clergymen for their own gain. Williams believed that the Church of
1Williams, Roger. “A Plea for Religious Liberty (1644),” Amazon Digital Services Inc., 2014. Accessed September 20,
(2015). 1.
2 Williams, Roger and James Calvin Davis F. “On Religious Liberty: Selections from the Works of Roger Williams.
Harvard University Press. (2008). 1.
England only existed for their own personal greed and they could care less for their members.
“He had come to regard the Church of England as a false church, from which true Christians
must withdraw.”3 He had already accepted that the Church of England no longer cared about the
church doctrine but instead themselves. Roger did what many people wanted to do during his day
but were afraid to because of the repercussions that came with it. He decided to write about it
and came to the conclusion that the only answer to solving the problem would be to separate
from the Church of England.
He already knew that “a young clergyman of separatist principles faced a bleak future in
England, so he decided to accept the “late New England call” from the church at Salem, near
Boston.”4 At first Rogers agreed with the Puritans way of life and what their church stood for he
felt that if anyone agreed with him about the corruption in the Church of England then they were
considered real Christians in his eyes. But, unfortunately, like the Church of England when the
Puritans found about Williams extreme ways they did not want to have any part of him. They
eventually started to believe too that Williams was a traitor not only to the Church but also to his
country. The major reason was because he was a sympathizer to the Native Americans and had
radical ideas and beliefs. “His reputation became entangled within a variety of controversies,
especially over religious liberty, the separation of church and state, and Native American
Rights.”5
Roger began to observe what many people refuse to see that the Native Americans were
just like them and they should have been accepted because they too were God’s people. Salvation
33 McBeth, Leon. The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,
1987),
126.
4 Ibid.
5 Byrd, James P et al. “Religion and American Culture: Through a Glass Darkly.” University Alabama Press. (2012).
53.
should be given to anyone who wants it not just a selected few. When Roger began to realize that
he was being villainized for his radical beliefs that became a turning point for him. He knew that
although, he was viewed as a radical by many for his controversial views regarding the Church
of England. The truth was that he was not an extremist at all, but a separatist who fought for
equality.
BODY
Once Roger Williams realized that the Church of England was dishonest and corrupt he
in return focused more on fighting for religious freedom then unification. “The church and the
state are among the most powerful institutional forces within society.”6 That meant that he was
not only fighting a church but a whole organization that believed what they were doing was
correct. If anyone had a problem with it they would be publicly ostracized and kicked out of the
church. Roger had no other choice but to separate himself from the Puritans and later the
Baptists. Instead of finding a truce between him and the Puritans he chose to fight for the church
member’s rights and freedom of speech. “He was a man bound to his own age: his problems of
his contemporaries, and his sources for solutions were essentially religious.”7 Roger had a deep
spiritual belief that he needed to concentrate on God’s people who were being abused and
mistreated by the Church. Instead of unifying a church he felt that did not have any substance for
the well-being of others.
After seeing the mistreatment of the Native Americans Roger set himself apart from the
Puritans and the Church of England because they were not who they say they were. They not
only took the Native Americans lands but they also claim it as their own. “Williams charged that
6 Neff, Jimmy D. “Roger Williams: Pious Puritan and Strict Separationist.” Journal of Church and State 38, no. 3:
(1996), 529.
7 Ibid. 531.
the English monarch had no authority to grant title to land for which he had not secured
ownership from the Native Americans.”8 That was considered stealing in Williams eyes and he
did not want to have any part of it. The Native Americans were God’s people just as much as the
Puritans. To think otherwise was considered ungodly. The problem was that the king of England
took advantage of the Native Americans because of their poor speech and their lack of
understanding of their rights. He also felt “that could not be the true church of Christ, on whose
skirts was found sprinkled the blood of saints and martyrs.”9 To have done that to the Native
Americans Roger felt that could have happened to anyone within the church if they went against
the church and their beliefs. The Native Americans not only did not have rights but they did not
have any legal holding of their own lands that they founded. “He also declared that the land the
colonies occupied belonged to the Indians, and that the entire colonial enterprise was unjust and
illegal.”10 That was not accepted well by the Puritans, many of them felt that he was a threat and
kicked him out of their church. William vented his anger in his treatise “The Bloudy Tenent of
Persecution for Case of Conscience Discussed” “William argued that scripture and history both
prove the iniquity of religious liberty for all, including Papists, Turks, Jews, and atheists.”11
Rogers believed that this was not how God felt about his people. He loved them regardless of
their different cultures and beliefs. For Rogers it was more about how the Church felt and how
they were pushing their uneasiness and influence on others. The only way that Williams could
have responded was to fight for the rights of the Native Americans.
8 Ibid, 533.
9 Williams, Roger. “The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed.” Amazon Digital Services
Inc., (2012), x.
10Gonzalez, Justo L. “The Story of Christianity: The Reformation to the Present Day”. Vol. II. HarperCollins. New
York, NY. (2010). 284.
11 McBeth, Leon. The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,
1987),
133.
Although, as a Baptist Roger tried to find a cohesive church that identified with his
beliefs; he could not find any church that could give him solace when it came to justice and equal
rights. Roger had already left the Church of England for their cruelty and dishonesty already to
their own church members. “He could not regard the conditions and severities and oppossesion,
exercised by the Church of England, with any feelings but those of indignation.”12 He knew that
there was just no reason why the Church of England disrespected their people. The only reason
that he could think of was that the leaders of the church wanted to abuse their power. For that
reason Roger did not want to have any part of it. “But when he attempted secession of his
church, the authorities of Massachusetts expelled him.”13 After Roger left his church and became
a Puritan and he quickly found out that they did not practiced what they preached when it came
to their own lives. What pushed Roger to the Puritans was that the
“Puritans had a faith that William greatly admired, and to a large degree embraced. They
were unable, however to move toward the angelic conjunction of faith cemented to
freedom. Puritans had difficulty believing that freedom did not dishonor or discredit
faith; they did not understand, could not understand that liberty only brightened and
purified every confession of the heart.”14
What divided them was that he wanted to know how could the people go along with the King of
England stealing the Native American lands and then at the same time call themselves
Christians? There was many questions Roger wanted answered. He really graveled with those
questions because as a clergyman he knew that what the Puritans was doing was considered
ungodly. That is why in his book “Decoding Roger Williams: The Lost Essay of Rhode Island’s
12Williams, Roger. “The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed.” Amazon Digital Services
Inc., (2012), x.
13 Gonzalez, Justo L. “The Story of Christianity: The Reformation to the Present Day”. Vol. II. HarperCollins. New
York, NY. (2010). 284.
14 Gaustad, Edwin S P. “Roger Williams: beyond Puritanism.” Baptist History and Heritage”. (2015). 11.
Founding Father” Fisher mentions that it was not out of the norm for Roger to fight for his
extreme beliefs. He argued,
In many ways, it is unsurprisingly to find Williams inserting himself in yet another
Theological controversy since he devoted his life to defending the principles he believed
In, no matter how unpopular these were among his ministerial colleagues and
Government authorities.15
When Roger found out that the Puritans ended up doing the same to the Native
Americans he thought that the church should be separated from the state. The church had too
much influence over the state and that was unfair. That is also the main reason why Roger left the
Puritans and later became a Baptist. Leon McBeth seems to agree he writes “Becoming a Baptist
was for Williams the culmination of several influences. He was familiar with Baptist life in
England and may have come to this country already tinged with Baptist beliefs” But even as a
Baptist many saw some of his ideas as being extreme.”16 Roger wanted everyone to have the
right to choose and the freedom and justice to speak what they wanted without being afraid of
the consequences that may follow. “True civility and Christianity,” he argued may both flourish
in a state or kingdom, notwithstanding the permission of diverse and contrary consciences, either
Jew or Gentile.”17 No matter what a person believes in or where they are from it is there right to
have freedom of speech and religion.
15 Fisher, Linford D., Lemons, J. Stanley, and Mason-Brown, Lucas. “Decoding Roger Williams: The Lost Essay of
Rhode Island’s Founding Father. Waco, TX, USA: Baylor University Press, (2014). 3.
16 McBeth, Leon. The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,
1987), 131.
17 McBeth, Leon. The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,
1987), 133.
Roger Williams fought for freedom of religion and liberty and not church dominance.
The Church of England bullied their members and their way of thinking and took away their
rights. Unlike Roger Williams many members of the Church of England was afraid to step
outside of their religion and experience other religions and cultures. Williams was not afraid
“Williams mastered several Indian tongues, using these to good advantage in his trading
ventures, preaching, and political arbitration among them.”18 He really wanted to study them and
treat them as equals. Many saw it as being as extreme but in all actuality it was that he wanted
them to have the freedom of religion and liberty just like the Puritans, Separatist’s, and the
Baptists. Anything lesser than that would be insufficient. What surprised Roger the most was that
none of the churches acted like loving Christians when it came to anyone who went against their
beliefs and their way of thinking. Because he was outspoken about his desire to accept the Native
Americans and their culture he was branded an extremist to everyone around them. But, in all
reality Roger Williams was an excellent example of how the church should have acted towards
the Native Americans.
Although, Williams did not convert them to Christianity he did show the Native
Americans that he respected them and their culture. He also did what he set out to do and that
was let them know that God loved them too. The Native Americans is just as much as God’s
children as we are to him. Roger admired them but at the same time he was not clueless when it
came to how the Native Americans express themselves he states in his book “A Key into the
Language of America” that “the natives are of two sorts. Some more rude and clownish, who are
not so apt to Salute, but upon Salutation resolute lovingly.19” Even though the Native Americans
18Ibid.
19Williams, Roger. “A key Into the Language of America.” Cosimo Classics. (2010). 1.
were not Christians they still should have been accepted. Christianity, is a worldwide religion
based on Christ love for all his people not just for some.
“What is today taken for granted was a radical novelty in Williams day, namely religious
liberty for all.”20 Williams was so adamant about finding freedom for everybody that he started
writing his strong beliefs in his book “The Bloody Tenant of Persecution (1644)”. Although, his
book was probably not one of his greatest works because “the book shows signs of hasty
preparation.”21 His book is an excellent example of what a religion document is about the
justification of liberty. “While Williams arguments was primarily theological, he also indicated
that such liberty would teach to domestic peace and tranquility.”22 John Cotton who wrote a book
in response to Williams book called “The Bloudy Tenent Washed and Made White in the Bloud
of the Lamb (1647)” felt that Williams was not being truthful about his observation of the
church. “He also argued that Williams was not persecuted for religious conscience but for
sinning against that conscience after he had been instructed in the truth.”23 William answered
back again with “The Bloudy Tenent Yet More Bloud by Mr. Cottons endeavor to wash it white in
the Bloud of the Lambe (1652)”24 He mentioned that there were more examples of people being
persecuted for their religion. He also added that to answer this problem would be to have church
and state separated. Williams tried to fight hard for religion, freedom and liberty during his day
because he knew that no one else would have enough courage to stand up against the
establishment.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid, 134.
24 Ibid, 134.
“To Roger Williams the basic principle was religion liberty, the freedom of the soul
before God, but he regarded the separation of civil and spiritual spheres as essential to providing
that soul freedom.”25 “In the Bloudy Tenent Williams, discussing Romans 13 observed, “This
scripture held forth a twofold state, a civil state and a spiritual, civil officers and spiritual, civil
weapons and spiritual weapons”26 The church had the most power then the state. The church also
prevailed because like Williams mentioned they have the power of God. Williams writes that
“All the power the magistrate has over the church is temporal, not spiritual; and all the power the
church hath over the magistrate is spiritual not temporal.”27 That is why the ideology of the
separation of the church from the state was pushed by Williams.
CONCLUSION
Roger Williams played a unique role in the development of church-state relations, not
only in America but also in England.”28 He not only worked hard but he fought hard to get the
results that he wanted. Roger accomplished many things during his lifetime. Leon McBeth
mentions one of his achievements in his book “The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist
Witness” he states “Extant records do not tell who was the first Baptist in America, but they do
show that the first organized church was formed at Providence in early 1639 by Roger
Williams.”29 So he not only resided over the first Baptist Church in America but he brought to
the forefront the importance of having religious freedom and liberty no matter what nationality a
25 Ibid, 134.
26Ibid, 134.
27 Ibid, 134.
28 Phillips, Stephen. “Roger Williams and the Two Tables of the Law.” Journal of Church and State 38, no. 3 (1996):
547.
29 McBeth, Leon. The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,
1987), 124.
person may have. The world has many leaders but the one that stands out the most is Roger
Williams. The reason is because he and others fought tirelessly so that everyone can at least
experience, or have the right to freely speak, or choose what religion as they please.
Although, his ideas and thoughts were considered extreme to many people they were not
extreme to him. History shows that people who bring ideas such as freedom and religion to the
forefront would more than likely have to face adversity at first but in the end the result will be
positive. The truth is that the government should not have any rights within the church. Just as
the church should not have any involvement with whatever the government does. However,
when it comes to the freedom of speech and liberty that should not require any involvement from
either side because that is a God given right.
If it wasn’t for Roger Williams and other separatists who wanted to reform the church we
probably would not be able to have the freedom to speak or practice what religion that we
choose. Roger not only set the standards high for liberty, justice, and religion but he succeeded.
Even though he did not change the minds of the Puritists or Baptists, he did make them confront
their actions. Whether they liked it or not. Finally, one thing is true and that is
While Roger Williams deserves a place of honor in American history, he obviously had
Feet of clay. His vision of a new kind of society, with democracy and freedom for all,
Made him look radical to his contemporaries. However, one must admit that he often
Held his convictions with a tenacity resembling obstinacy and that his personality
Could be erratic and abusive.30
30 McBeth, Leon. The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,
1987), 135.
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