Minister's Blog

Let Freedom Ring!
The Southern Baptist Faith and Message, Article 17 states: A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power. This is the conviction of the Southern Baptists, and it is the situation enjoyed by Baptists in the United States of America since its founding. This climate of assured religious freedom established by the First Amendment to our Constitution which states, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, was a completely new thing when ratified in 1789. At the time of our nation’s founding European nations still had state sanctioned and supported churches. While toleration of other Christian groups had become more common, the Church of England was the official sanctioned and established church of the state. The colonies had enjoyed a measure of freedom, but eight of the colonies had official state sponsored churches, three were Congregationalist and five were Anglican. This meant other groups (like Baptists) were marginalized and even persecuted.
One of the earliest and loudest voices advocating for the freedom of conscience in matters of faith in the colonies was Roger Williams. His spiritual journey had many twists and turns. He was well educated at Cambridge and as a young man came to hold separatist views, believing the Church of England was corrupt. He and his wife moved to the Massachusetts Colony in 1631. His views against state sanctioned and established religion and for freedom of conscience were so strong, he was constantly in conflict with the Congregational Puritans (state religion) in the colony. He preached and taught in several Congregational churches only to be forced to leave when his views came in conflict with other clergy. He was finally brought before the courts and convicted of sedition and heresy in the fall of 1635 and banished from the colony. In early 1636 he left Massachusetts and after some wandering found a place suitable for establishing a settlement. He and a few others established the Providence Plantation on land they purchased from a local tribe of Native Americans. Two years later (1638) Williams and twelve others established what became the First Baptist Church of Providence. He later returned to England and was granted a charter for the Rhode Island Colony. Rhode Island became a colony known for the fair treatment of Native Americans and freedom of religion. Williams wrote on Native American culture and language and his writings on freedom of conscience and freedom of religion were utilized and cited by Thomas Jefferson.
There have been and there will continue to be various debates related to the application and reach of the First Amendment. It is certain that our founders were not envisioning a nation where non-Christian religions would flourish, but the freedoms Americans have enjoyed for the past 250 years are unparalleled. We have much to be proud of and thankful for as citizens of this great nation. I thought it appropriate to take note of how one early Baptist fought for freedom in the colonies 150 years before this freedom became part the Constitution of the United States of America.