Isaac Backus Quotes

No human being - and certainly no man - has the right to define for me what my understanding of God is.

It is the right and duty of all men publicly, and at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being.

Why should any man have power over any other man's faith, seeing Christ Himself is the author of it?

We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.

I am a person of faith who believes deeply in the right to exercise religious beliefs.

The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in its nature an unalienable right.

The state authorities have no place in the church of God, no right to control and persecute the conscience.

Faith comes not by compulsion, but it is a matter of free choice; therefore, no one has the authority to compel anyone else in such matters, nor to coerce him with new laws

It is certainly no part of religion to compel religion.

I never found much comfort in overly organized religion of any sort.

I am not an atheist; I believe in God. But my religion ends there. I have my own personal belief system that is so strong it allows me to do what I do. I don't have to worry about going to Hell because of Slayer, you know? Everyone has a personal belief system and believes in life somehow.

I believe in God. It's a big part of my life. You can bring it up and talk about it without being 'Christian Rocker.'

I'm a practicing Christian - and I'm going to keep practicing till I get it right - but I don't feel everyone has to practice the same religion that I do. You have a right to worship who you choose and how you choose to.

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

The Bible is the fountain of truth.

I don't think it is given to any of us to be impertinent to great religions with impunity.

Religion has to stay in the heart, not in politics. It is private.

I don't disrespect anybody who espouses a particular religion or belief - that is their own right to do that. But I think it's terribly important to look beyond the comfort that religion gives.

As men's habits of mind differ, so that some more readily embrace one form of faith, some another, for what moves one to pray may move another only to scoff, I conclude, in accordance with what has gone before, that everyone should be free to choose for himself the foundations of his creed, and that faith should be judged only by its fruits; each would then obey God freely with his whole heart, while nothing would be publicly honoured save justice and charity.

It is a mistake to assume that God is interested only, or even chiefly, in religion.

We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to practice faith or not, and those who believe are free and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief.

Religion and the public liberty of a people are interwoven, and cannot exist separately.

It is indeed better … that men should be led to worship God by teaching, than that they should be driven to it by fear of punishment or pain; but it does not follow that because the former course produces the better men, therefore those who do not yield to it should be neglected. For many have found advantage … in being first compelled by fear or pain, so that they might afterwards be influenced by teaching…

This nations must stand for or against Christ.

Islam—like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, or any other religion—is not about peace. Nor is it about war. Every religion is about absolute belief in its own superiority and the divine right to impose its version of truth upon others.