BRUCEGOURLEY.COM

   THE BAPTIST INDEX
  Religious Liberty & Separation of Church State Quotes

     SITE DIRECTORY

BAPTIST
INDEX HOME

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Baptist heritage of religious liberty and the separation of church and state.

 

 

 

 

A few quotes from Baptists in America from the 17th to early 19th centuries

For current developments and broader interpretation on Baptists and Church / State issues, go to the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty site.

1612
"If the Kings people be obedient and true subjects, obeying all humane lawes made by the King, our Lord the King can require no more: for men’s religion to God is betwixt God and themselves; the King shall not answer for it, neither may the King be judge between God and man." — Thomas Helwys (co-founder of First Baptist Church in the world, in Amsterdam, Holland), A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity

1612
"If our lord the King by his discerning judgment see that as Queen Mary by her sword of justice had no power over her subjects consciences (for then had she power to make them all Papists, and all that resisted her therein suffered justly as evil doers) neither hath our lord the King by that sword of justice power over his subjects consciences: for all earthly powers are one and the same in their several dominions." Thomas Helwys (co-founder of First Baptist Church in Europe), A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity

1644
"An enforced uniformity of religion throughout a nation or civil state, confounds the civil and religious, denies the principles of Christianity and civility, and that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh." Roger Williams (founder of First Baptist Church in America), The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for Cause of Conscience

1644
"When they [the Church] have opened a gap in the hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world, God hath ever broke down the wall itself, removed the Candlestick, etc., and made His Garden a wilderness as it is this day. And that therefore if He will ever please to restore His garden and Paradise again, it must of necessity be walled in peculiarly unto Himself from the world, and all that be saved out of the world are to be transplanted out of the wilderness of the World."  Roger Williams, "Mr. Cotton's Letter Lately Printed, Examined and Answered," The Complete Writings of Roger Williams (New York: Russell & Russell Inc. 1963)
, Vol. 1, 108.

1773
"Religious matters are to be separated from the jurisdiction of the state, not because they are beneath the interests of the state but, quite to the contrary, because they are too high and holy and thus are beyond the competence of the state."

"God has appointed two kinds of government in the world, which are distinct in their nature, and ought never to be confounded together; one of which is called civil, the other ecclesiastical government."

Isaac Backus, colonial Baptist from New England, An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty. (available online)

1790
"The notion of a Christian commonwealth should be exploded forever. ... Government should protect every man in thinking and speaking freely, and see that one does not abuse another. The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest to grant indulgence, whereas all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians." John Leland, "A Chronicle of His Time in Virginia," The Writings of the Later Elder John Leland, published in 1845.

1791
"These establishments metamorphose the church into a creature, and religion into a principle of state, which has a natural tendency to make men conclude that Bible religion is nothing but a trick of state." John Leland, "Right of Conscience Inalienable, and Therefore, Religious Opinions Not Cognizable By The Law," The Writings of the Later Elder John Leland, published in 1845.

1791
"Is conformity of sentiments in matters of religion essential to the happiness of civil government? Not at all. Government has no more to do with the religious opinions of men than it has with the principles of mathematics. Let every man speak freely without fear--maintain the principles that he believes--worship according to his own faith, either one God, three Gods, no God, or twenty Gods; and let government protect him in so doing, i.e., see that he meets with no personal abuse or loss of property for his religious opinions. Instead of discouraging him with proscriptions, fines, confiscation or death, let him be encouraged, as a free man, to bring forth his arguments and maintain his points with all boldness; then if his doctrine is false it will be confuted, and if it is true (though ever so novel) let others credit it. When every man has this liberty what can he wish for more? A liberal man asks for nothing more of government." John Leland, "Right of Conscience Inalienable, and Therefore, Religious Opinions Not Cognizable By The Law," The Writings of the Later Elder John Leland, published in 1845.

1804
"Experience...has informed us that the fondness of magistrates to foster Christianity has done it more harm than all the persecutions ever did." The Writings of the Later Elder John Leland, published in 1845.

1820
“The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest to grant indulgence; whereas all should be equally free, Jews, Turks [Muslims], Pagans and Christians. Test oaths and established creeds should be avoided as the worst of evils.” The Writings of the Later Elder John Leland, published in 1845.