"The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, released the same year as his friend John Milton's defense of the free press, Areopagitica, argued for "soul liberty" for all people, "paganish, Jewish, Turkish, or anti-christian." Such ideas were far ahead of their time — perhaps even our time... Williams' ideas infused the charters of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other colonies with protections for religious freedom. And his notions of a fully secular state found their way into the writings of John Locke, who would have a seminal influence on Jefferson, Madison, and other Founders. One wishes that America had taken even more from Williams and what Gaustad calls his "bequest...of liberty, responsibility, and civility.""
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Activists from the United StatesPolitical activistsPoliticians from LondonAmerican colonial governorsPoliticians from Rhode Island
Original Language: English
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Nick Gillespie in "Remembering Roger Williams" - Reason magazine (November 2005)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_(theologian)
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Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams (21 December 1603 – 1 April 1684) was an Anglo-American clergyman, a pioneering advocate for freedom of conscience in religious matters, and the separation of church and state. He was the founder of the Rhode Island colony.
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