Roger Williams
2007
Minister · Secular Advocate · Founder of Rhode Island
Roger Williams was a unique man in freethinker history, a devout minister who believed all people had the right to worship as they chose without fear of oppression. As such, he fought for the separation of church and state during a time in U.S. history when the government showed preference to Christianity, and non-belief was paramount to a capital offense.
Williams was born and raised in London, where he became known as an exceptional linguist and was ordained by the Church of England. However, he became concerned by the Church’s power over the country, arguing even then for the separation of church and state. This quest for religious liberty and equality was not well-received by the Church, who persecuted Williams ruthlessly. So, following his marriage to Mary Bernard, Williams decided to move his family to America.
“The greatest crime is not developing your potential. When you do what you do best, you are helping not only yourself, but the world.”
However, in America, his views on religion and the separation of church and state made him a pariah. He vocally argued for every religion to coexist, stating that no one could know for certain which form of religion was the one God had intended. He also argued that liberty meant separating one’s religious views from government matters.
“There is a moral virtue, a moral fidelity, ability and honesty, which other men, besides church members, are, by good nature and education, by good laws and good examples nourished and trained up in; so that civil places and trust and credit need not be monopolized into the hands of church members (who sometimes are not fitted for public office), while all others are deprived and despoiled of their natural and civil rights and liberties.”
After several years of being unable to preach due to his controversial views, Williams turned to trading as a career. Due to his language skills, he was easily able to learn many tribal languages, establishing himself as a friend to the Wampanoag and Narragansett Tribes. Adding to his controversial views, Williams began to understand that the natives were the true owners of the land. Unable to keep quiet on this issue, he publicly rebuked the King of England, who had claimed that America was unoccupied and free for the taking.
After only six years in America, Williams was banished from Massachusetts for sedition and heresy, thrown out with nothing more than a compass and some meager supplies. With nowhere to go and heavy snow coating the land, Williams trekked more than eighty miles to a land that would soon be known as Rhode Island, building a home in a place he called Providence.
Williams officially founded Rhode Island in 1663, creating America’s first true democracy. He gave the head of each household an equal vote in the government, including women. He also separated the church from the government so faith could not influence the law or become the law. Williams also declared that these equalities and liberties must be extended to the Native Americans and the enslaved, and he was able to briefly outlaw slavery in Rhode Island.
“I infer that the sovereign, original, and foundation of civil power lies in the people.”
Roger Williams was known as an anarchist and heretical seditionist. In reality, Williams was a freethinking pioneer who fought for religious liberty, equal rights, and true democracy.