Who was Roger Williams?

Roger Williams (1603—1683) was a British clergyman, Puritan minister, and founder of the Rhode Island Colony. He is best known for his pioneering advocacy of religious freedom and separation of church and state in America.

Roger Williams, the son of a middle-class shopkeeper, was born in London, England, around 1603. He grew up in a society marked by religious tension and political unrest. Williams developed a keen interest in theology and languages while studying at Charterhouse and later at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1627. The following year, he was ordained in the Church of England.

Williams briefly worked as a private Anglican chaplain for Sir William Masham in Essex, where he married Mary Barnard, a Puritan clergyman’s daughter, in 1629. Soon, his separatist views and strong moral convictions led him to migrate to the New World.

In 1631, Roger and Mary arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony, seeking refuge from the persecution faced by Puritans in England. He accepted a pastorate in Plymouth and later in Salem. However, his radical beliefs quickly placed him at odds with the colony’s established leaders. Williams enthusiastically argued for the separation of church and state, a revolutionary idea at the time. He firmly believed that civil authorities should not enforce religious conformity and that Puritans in New England should separate from the Church of England. He criticized the Puritan establishment for various practices, including the expropriation of Native American land without negotiations.

By October 1635, Roger Williams was banished back to England by the colonial legislature. Instead of crossing the Atlantic, he fled south with his family and a few friends. Williams negotiated with the Narragansett tribe to purchase land, where he established a settlement he named Providence in 1636. Soon, he helped found the first Baptist church in the New World. The settlement of Providence became a haven for people seeking religious tolerance and freedom from persecution. It was the first place to enjoy unhampered, open worship of God apart from the state’s control or interference.

Williams extended his philosophy of separation of church and state to his governance, ensuring that Rhode Island was a stronghold of liberty and diversity. In 1643, he returned to England to obtain a charter for Rhode Island, and he served as the colony’s first president from 1654 to 1657. During this time, Williams welcomed the first Jews and Quakers to Rhode Island despite disagreeing with their religious views.

Williams’ relationship with Native Americans was characterized by friendship, mutual respect, and cooperation. He learned their languages and customs and fostered an understanding that allowed him to mediate conflicts and negotiate peace between settlers and tribes. His fair dealings with the Narragansett and other tribes ensured a non-violent coexistence and contributed to the stability and growth of Rhode Island.

Roger Williams’ promotion of religious freedom extended beyond his founding of Rhode Island. He wrote several influential works, including A Key into the Language of America (1643) and The Bloody Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience (1644). These and other writings articulated his lifelong belief in the inherent rights of individuals to live out their faith without interference from the government or society. Williams’ arguments laid the groundwork for the first amendment to the United States Constitution, which preserves the protection of religious freedom.

Over time, Williams stepped back from political leadership in the colony but remained active in theological debates. He increasingly interacted with the growing number of Quakers settling in the liberal atmosphere of Rhode Island, which had even elected a Quaker governor in 1672. That same year, Williams engaged in public debates with Quaker leaders in Newport and Providence, attempting to refute their concept of the “Inner Light”—the idea of personal revelation of divine truth. He documented his challenges to the Quakers in his work George Fox Digg’d Out of His Burrowes (1676).

King Philip’s War between the English colonists and the Native Americans of southeastern New England began in 1675. Roger Williams’ calls for restraint largely went ignored. In 1676, a group of Native Americans attacked Providence and set fire to Williams’ home. Well into his 70s by that time, Williams had lost his trade and fell into financial hardship. After the war, Williams assisted in capturing native combatants, who were subsequently sold into slavery.

In these later years, Roger Williams focused on resolving Rhode Island’s ongoing political conflicts and writing theology. He had withdrawn from the Baptist denomination in search of a church that aligned with his concept of the early Christian church. Eventually, Williams became a religious loner who clung tenaciously to fundamental Calvinist theology. When he died in early 1683, he was living in poverty, an independent evangelical believer without a denomination.

Roger Williams was more than a pioneer; he was a visionary who profoundly influenced American society and democracy. He defended the principles of religious tolerance, separation of church and state, and fair and just treatment of Native Americans. His vision of a society where individuals could freely practice their faith without fear of persecution continues to inspire and resonate today.